A furry little helper
by MuffinGirl1510
Summary: Coming back to the V. A. after a particularly backbreaking job in Cuba, Murdock gets an unexpected visit that leads to finding a new friend… and more… Thanks to all of you who have been a great inspiration for this story. Have fun reading and reviewing!
1. Chapter One: The velvety visitor

It was 6 pm in West Los Angeles on a warm Wednesday evening in May when thirty-something Belinda Janet Miller was sitting on her sofa for the third time this week, looking over at the square and white building across the street, at the window of a certain room, to be exact. The brown-skinned young woman had moved into the little house across the building two weeks ago and had noticed that this usually was the time of day when a tall and brown-haired man with a battered brown leather jacket and a dark ball cap used to sit by that window, mostly reading a book or some comic books or just looking outside when he wasn't watching TV. The first time she had seen the lean and lank guy on the day when she had moved into the little house made of red bricks and she had liked him at first glance. Since then she enjoyed watching him sitting by the window or walking the park surrounding the building over there every now and then, sometimes acting as if he had a dog with him. Sometimes she wondered if he might have noticed her looking over and what he might have thought of it.

But tonight, just like the two nights before, there was no sign of him. She sighed in disappointment. It was easy to watch this guy as his room was opposite of her living room, and since she had moved in she had used every opportunity to get a look at him. So she had gotten used to the habit of looking at him before going to bed, and she had noticed that sleep was coming a lot easier when she had watched him.

There was something very fascinating and attractive about him. She couldn't quite put a finger on it but it was definitely more than just his features she considered very handsome. It was something that was interesting to keep an eye on, giving her comfort of some sorts and making her feel as if everything gone wrong could be fixed again if one had the heart to try and solve the problem, no matter what. As if quitting was out of the question. She felt as if she had known him for months. Yet she didn't dare to cross the street and say hello, let alone ask for his name; she preferred to just look at him even though she knew it was quite rude to stare at people like at some painting or at a TV screen.

Belinda sighed again, shook her head as if trying to clear it, and closed the curtains. Slowly, she wandered upstairs towards her bedroom. A little red tabby cat with short and velvety fur, curled up into a round ball on the blanket, raised her head when the young woman entered the room. The delicate animal named Tabby meowed sweetly to greet Belinda. Tabby was less than a year old, actually not much more than a kitten but sometimes she acted as if she were much older and wiser. In those moments, Belinda thought her cat to be a little Miss Know-it-all if she were human. Belinda had named her Tabby because the word had sounded nice and right for the delicate animal with the velvety coat, the beautiful stripes, a white mouth, four white paws and a white chest and belly. The cat had beautiful golden eyes and a graceful body.

"Hello, Tabby," Belinda said, taking her clothes off to put on a sleeveless and knee-long white cotton nightgown that fell down to her knees, and sitting down on the edge of the bed. A short row of transparent buttons decorated the front of her nightgown. She sat down on the edge of the bed, gently poked the cat's nose and asked, "Had a nice day, Little Missus?" The cat purred and came to rub against her arm before she made her way for the door left ajar. She stood up on her hind paws to push the door open with her front paws, and went down the stairs and through the kitty door to take her nocturnal stroll in the neighborhood.

During the next week, Belinda checked on a regular basis if the guy might have come back. But there was still no sign of him until Friday evening when he opened the window and looked out as if to check if somebody might have stolen the park surrounding the white building while he had been away. Belinda couldn't help smiling. It reminded her of Tabby's behavior whenever a thunderstorm would come up. Then the cat would glance up at the sky and meow pitiful at Belinda as if to ask, "Where did the sun go? And who made it go away?"

On the other side of the street, Murdock entered his room with slow and tired steps. He was glad that the nurses hadn't bothered to ask him where he had been since he was too tired to make up a plausible excuse. It had been very busy days for the A-Team. The past mission in Cuba to release the citizens of a small town from the merciless choke hold of a reckless political leader and his henchmen had been really stressful for all of the team. To begin with, Murdock had almost crashed the little passenger plane that Face had managed to get his hands on against a mountain because of B. A. who had almost strangled him when the muscular Sergeant had found himself tricked into a flight once again. And as if this hadn't been enough, the team members had had to deal with the most brutal bunch of crooks they had ever run across.

"Damn this big angry mud-sucker and his fear of flyin'!" Murdock complained to the descending dark red sun, his unplugged arcade machine in the corner and the little basketball hoop opposite of it. A yellow small sponge rubber ball was squeezed flat between the hoop's rim and the ceiling. He opened the window, to get some fresh air, and looked out to check if everything was still okay before plopping down on top of his bed and pulling his cap low over his eyes. A little voice from the drawer of his bedside table answered to his grumbled statement, snapping him awake.

"Which is so not your fault!" Murdock heard the voice say. He sat up and rummaged in the drawer to find a matchbox with the words "Herman's Home" written on it. Carefully, he pushed it open and looked at a small cockroach that hurried to hide in the darker part of the box.

"You're right, Herman, thanks," he said, smiling. "So nice of you to remind me." The pilot took a piece of paper from another drawer to fold it into a plane and opened the box further before he nudged the insect with his index finger to make it climb onto the plane.

"Y'know, I've seen a cute lady bug in the big bush on the other side of the park, reading a book. I bet she'd like to meet you," Murdock whispered with a small grin. "Have fun, Herman. Go ahead."

Murdock aimed and let the paper plane fly towards the bushes. He laughed quietly and shook his head when the plane landed on the grass next to the biggest bush.

_An ace pilot barely able to control a paper plane!__ If that ain't a treat! _he thought, and sat down on the bed again, uttering another small and rather humorless laugh. A few minutes later, he lay down on top of the bed again, took a deep breath and fell asleep.

At about the same time, Belinda dragged herself away from the window and went into the kitchen to feed her feline friend who had started begging for food. As usual, there was a discussion between them because Tabby wanted Belinda to open a fresh can of tuna fish in oil although there was half a can of pork bits in jelly left. And as usual, Belinda gave in when Tabby gave her an icy _"You don't love me anymore"_-stare from head to toe, meowed accusingly and turned her back on the brown-skinned woman, the feline version of the cold shoulder, ignoring her until she got the required can of tuna fish.

But nonetheless, the cat left the house without dining tonight. There were things to do and places to go, and even if tuna fish was her favorite food, it could wait until breakfast. Having visited almost every house in the neighborhood before, the little animal decided to cross the street and sneak through a little hole in the hedgerow she had noticed a few nights before. She caught the scent of many people that had walked around on the grass before she looked at the barred windows. She noticed an open one and jumped onto the window-sill. Tabby looked at the only person in the room, a tall man in a dark ball cap pulled low over his eyes wearing a worn jacket with a smell the cat considered interesting, a pair of khaki pants and a pair of beat-up black tennis shoes. He was lying on a bed, his long legs crossed at the ankles, his head resting on his left arm, his right hand splayed across his belly, apparently having fallen asleep. But her sense of smell told the cat he hadn't. She knew there was a certain odor on humans asleep, and this guy wasn't oozing it. Yet, he smelled a-okay to Tabby. To become noticeable, the cat meowed softly and scratched the window's frame, making him rub his eyes with his palms and sit up before coming to the window.

"Well, hello, hello," Murdock said to his unexpected visitor and gently ran his hand over the little animal's head and back before he started scratching the cat's ears, making her purr. Although he preferred the company of dogs since he had been a kid – his best childhood playmates had been a gang of invisible creatures and Billy, his grandparents' ancient yard dog –, Murdock smiled when the pretty tabby cat purred louder and came to rub her head against his arm. The pilot was fond of animals in general, except for spiders and some other bugs. Sometimes, he even preferred animals to people.

"And who might you be, little guy?" he asked. The cat added little trills to her purring.

"Don't you worry, I don't bite," the pilot smiled and laughed softly about his own joke before taking a closer look at the black square plastic tag in the size of a big stamp that was dangling from the cat's black leathern collar, attached to it with a little safety hook, just like the rabies tag next to it. Murdock took the black plastic tag off the collar and held it like a coin between index finger and thumb, carefully studying it.

"_Hi, my name is Tabby,"_ the tag read in white and delicately carved-in letters,_ "If I'd get lost, I'd be glad if you'd take me back to my friend Belinda J. Miller. We lodge in 1510 San Vincente, West Los Angeles. Thank you. Truly yours, Tabby"_ Murdock blinked in surprise when he realized that the cat's home had to be one of the houses on the other side of the street. He had gotten new neighbors, as it seemed.

"Evening, Miss Tabby," he said, tucking politely at the bill of his cap when he realized that he was facing a little lady. He re-attached the tag to the cat's collar and continued scratching her ears. The cat closed her eyes and snuggled her head against his palm.

"My name is Murdock, H. M. to my friends," the pilot added, highly amused by the cat's behavior. "Nice to meet you. And sorry that I mistook you for a little guy at first. Come to check out the neighborhood, have ya?" The cat looked at him and meowed as if to agree before she blinked at him with both eyes. Murdock smiled again before he opened his bedside table drawer again and searched for something he could offer his unexpected guest. Finally, his fingers found the unopened can of anchovies left from his supper last Sunday before the mission had started. He opened the can to see if the content was still edible before he picked out one of the little fish and held it out to the cat that took it with a delicate motion from his fingers and ate it slowly.

"Hope you enjoy it," the pilot said, pulling up a chair to sit by the window before giving the next fish to the cat. He could have sworn he saw the corners of her mouth curl up into a little smile when she grabbed his hand with both front paws and started to lick his fingers and his palm, obviously trying not to waste a bit of the fish oil before eating the second fish, licking his fingers again and making herself comfortable on the inner window-sill by tucking her delicate paws underneath her body. She yawned, making Murdock yawn as well. He checked his watch and decided it might be a good idea to catch some Z's – it had been a really tough time, after all – and let the cat stay as his guest. He would take the little animal home on the next day, just like the tag had said.

Murdock laid down on his bed again and felt the cat crawl underneath his jacket and his shirt und cuddle close to him. He opened the zipper of the jacket a bit further and brushed aside the fabric of his shirt to look at the curled-up cat on his belly, and scratched her ears again. When the cat started purring again, a little bit louder this time, the soothing vibration and the pleasant sound made Murdock doze off again soon.

The new day was barely dawning when the pilot woke up again. He yawned and noticed the golden eyes of the cat watching him from inside his jacket.

"Mornin', Miss Tabby. I think Miss Miller will be worried about you not coming home," he said to the cat. "What do ya think if I take you home before you're gonna be declared missin' and make your friend cry?"

Meowing softly, Tabby blinked at him again with both eyes and rubbed against his ribcage, sticking her head out of his jacket and looking towards the door.

"C'mon, let's take you home, Miss Tabby," Murdock said and put a soothing arm around the little creature in his jacket. Quietly talking to the cat, the pilot got up and carried the little animal through the halls to the front door, carefully looking around every corner if any of the nurses might cross his way. As soon as the pilot and the cat had made it outside unnoticed, Tabby struggled to leave the jacket before she stood up on her hind legs and begged Murdock to pick her up by scratching his pants. She made herself comfortable on his arms, and Murdock enjoyed the warmth coming from the cat's fur against his chest and her paws against the skin of his palms as the early morning was sunny but chilly. The cat put her head against his upper arm and closed her eyes as the tall pilot crossed the street, searched for the address and rapped on the door.

A young woman with peanut-colored skin opened the door to look at him curiously with eyes resembling black pearls. The pilot noticed a sweet-smelling perfume oozing from the young lady, followed by a pleasant smell of baked goods and hot coffee from inside the house. Both hit the pilot's nostrils with an intensity that made him blink in surprise. He couldn't help but notice he was facing a quite unusual woman. She stood about 5'30'', and her hair was the shortest he'd ever noticed on a woman. Normally, he was used to see long hair on a woman, but the short dark brown curls looked surprisingly good on the young lady. She wore an oriental-looking dress made of cotton fabric in different shades of blue falling down to her calves and a red long-sleeved jogging top with a half-opened zipper, showing the neck of the dress that was decorated with golden fancywork. The dress was clinging to her round body form reminding Murdock of the shape of a small Coca-Cola glass bottle. The unusual dress made her body and the brown skin look pretty. The pilot couldn't hide an amused grin when he noticed that the young woman was wearing tight pants made of jeans fabric and worn out Chuck Taylor tennis shoes with the dress. They looked like smaller versions of his own shoes. Except her laces were whiter and cleaner than his. Her only jewelery was a pair of dangling silver earrings with purple stones, a thin silver chain with a pendant containing the same purple stones, and a silver ring with a black carved-in symbol Murdock didn't recognize on her right pinkie. Murdock was sure B. A. would have liked the earrings – even if it was silver instead of gold. All in all, the young woman was fine-looking but didn't seem to be too worried about style and fashion.

"Belinda J. Miller?" he asked, wondering for a moment what the initial might stand for. She nodded, extending a delicate hand with short nails, carefully clipped and polished with a transparent nail polish, appearing whitish in the early morning sun. She was smiling at him with her full lips, covered with a shimmering lip balm. This was the only make-up she had put on.

"Yep, that's me," she said in a voice that rang dark and pleasant in his ears, looking up at him and giving her cat a wondering glance, "And you are…?" Her accent suggested that she wasn't from California or any other Southern state Murdock had been to. Therefore, he supposed she was from somewhere up North. In fact, Belinda was born in Abita Springs, Louisiana and raised in a small town close to Bangor, Maine. It had been rather tough to be the only non-white person in town – especially with a white unmarried mother –, and winters in Maine had been hard. Therefore, Belinda had left the town one day after she had graduated highschool. After she had lived at her younger sister's family in Ohio during her college and education time, she now enjoyed the sunny weather in Southern California where it was hard to move without running across another dark-skinned person. However, she sometimes missed having Christmas without snow.

"My name is H. M. Murdock, at your service. Nice to meet you, Miss Miller," Murdock said, smiling brightly and tucking at the bill of his cap again as the cat jumped off his arms and strolled into the house, rubbing gently against the woman's leg to greet her. "Hope I don't interrupt. Your little feline friend here came to visit me last night. So I thought I'd better take her home before she'll be declared missin'." He took the young woman's hand into his hands and patted it gently. She opened her mouth as if to say something but all she could do was to take a deep breath as suddenly, a little moaning sound escaped her slack lips. A second later, her legs gave out. Murdock could just reach out in time to catch her.

"Miss Miller!" he said in the loud whisper of a schoolboy in class while he held her a bit awkwardly in both arms, to keep her from lying on the floor. He carefully avoided touching any spots on her he thought to be indecent as he didn't mean to take liberties with her. He shifted her into a better position to check the pulse on her wrist and then push the door shut with his foot before lifting her up on both arms and getting up. For a moment, he marveled about that the young woman wasn't as heavy as she looked. The color of her face changed from light-brown to an odd yellow that screamed the word "unhealthy". It was a sight that made Murdock gulp hard. The pulse, however, was steady but quite fast.

"You're okay?" he asked.

Tabby came back, stood up on her hind paws and put her front paws against Murdock's shins to sniff the fingers of Belinda's left hand dangling in front of the pilot's kneecaps. Then the cat pawed at the hand and meowed forcefully as if to point out that of course her human friend wasn't all right.

"Oh, okay! You're right, Miss Tabby," Murdock said after he had studied Belinda's face again. Of course he had seen the young woman wasn't all right, and of course he knew it had been a rather pointless question. But it had been the first thought that had popped into his mind, and it had been something to cope with the situation. A cold ball curled up inside his stomach when Belinda didn't react. Carefully, Murdock pushed the door shut and carried her into the next room which happened to be the kitchen, the source of the delicious smell of baked goods and coffee he had noticed when she had opened the door. Murdock noticed a baking pan with obviously fresh-baked and golden brown muffins and a pitcher of apparently equally fresh-brewed coffee standing on the kitchen counter. He put her down on the kitchen bunk before he took off his jacket, folded it up into a makeshift pillow and put it underneath her head before he turned towards the telephone to call an ambulance. Then, he decided to put the makeshift pillow underneath the young lady's calves. The pilot didn't know what was wrong with her but he speculated it couldn't be wrong to have her legs put up instead her head. After having pulled up a chair to sit down next to the bunk until the ambulance would come, Murdock wrapped his long fingers protectively around her delicate hand again, patted it gently and was relieved to see the young woman regaining conscience after a while, and to his great relief, the unhealthy color of her face turned into the light-brown of roasted peanuts again. She blinked at him as if to ask what had happened.

"You broke down, Miss Miller," the pilot explained sheepishly. "I called an Ecto."

"Ecto?" the young woman asked, her voice not much more than a whisper. She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"The old ambulance car from the_ Ghostbusters _movie," Murdock explained, smiling broadly.

"Oh, that one!" Belinda smiled back when she remembered the movie and the car.

"I guess the ambulance is gonna be here any minute now," the pilot added.

"Thank you, Mr. Murdock," she said, turning towards him. She took a deep breath and smiled, doing her best not to pass out again with the man she was so fond of sitting next to her and holding her hand now. She was glad he had taken care of her when necessary.

"H. M., if you please, Miss Miller," Murdock corrected her with one of his trademark grins lighting up his entire face.

"Okay, H. M., thank you. I'm Bessie to my friends," Belinda answered in a hush voice, forcing her heartbeat back into a slower pace. "You live in the square building on the other side of the street, don't you? I've seen you walking the park over there every now and then. What kind of building is it, by the way? It doesn't look like an apartment house."

"Well, it isn't. It's a hospital for veteran soldiers, ya see," the pilot explained. "I live there since I came home from Vietnam in 1972." Belinda blinked in astonishment, obviously taken aback.

"You really survived this damn war?" she asked and lowered her gaze for a moment, "Must have been a living hell being over there. My mother once told me that her best friend's second husband came back from war having turned into an absolute bastard – pardon my French." She closed her eyes for a moment in slight embarrassment.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to use foul language," she added, blushing a little. The pilot couldn't help grinning.

"Don't you worry, Bessie. Truth be told I use worse once I get started," he tried to comfort her, patting her hand again, "After all, I'm a trained military man, a chopper pilot, to be exact. Ya see, chopper pilots can be worse than any other soldier when it comes to foul language, for all I know, and I, myself, can cuss up a storm. Speakin' of storms, war wasn't exactly a field trip. It can change a guy, mostly takin' the best of him, lemme tell ya." Murdock managed to keep a half-grin on his face with the last words and looked into her eyes, making her smile, too. She couldn't help it – the pilot's grin was just catching, and she liked the way it made his big brown eyes twinkle. But he had to struggle a bit to keep the grin on his face. He hardly ever liked talking about his time in the jungle, not even to his team mates who had seen most of it themselves – there was too much pain and fear attached to the memories. Even thinking about this time was like being poked with a very sharp pencil that was driven deep into his chest, all the way down to his heart. But this time it somehow felt different to talk about the time in Vietnam. It felt as if it wasn't his point of view at all but just some tale he had heard once in a he-said-she-said-crowd. He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his free hand and leaned in close to look into her eyes again. He could see a lot going on behind them and this view made his gloomy thoughts vanish into thin air.

Anyway, it was nice and refreshing to meet a woman like her, pretty in her own way and fun to talk to, but clearly not overly interested in the latest fashion and style, like the average girl he had met before.

It didn't really catch the pilot's eye that the young woman was pretty – those girls were ten a penny. But he had never seen a woman wearing beat-up high-top tennis shoes with a dress before, especially when she appeared to be past her late teens already; that was the fact that really interested him. He wished he could sit next to her forever, just listen to her pleasant voice and watch her black-brown eyes twinkle underneath the long lashes when her face was lit up by her smile. But on the other hand, Murdock didn't want to risk the nurses to find him gone, call the military police and report him missing. He could really do without meeting Lynch, Decker, Fulbright or any other Military Police officer on this fine morning. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later, and Murdock was glad to hear the medic say that it had been nothing serious. Belinda's blood pressure had been too low. But as soon as she would take a rest and eat and drink something, she would feel better, the medic had said. Besides, the medic said the pilot had done the right thing having put the young woman's legs up. This way, the blood pressure would recover soon enough. Murdock watched Belinda anxiously when she got ready to sit up again. She took a deep breath and smiled when she could remain seated.

"Say, what do you think about a cup of coffee and some muffins for taking care of Little Missus here and of me?" she asked, taking deep breaths between the words.

"Coffee and muffins sound nice. But only if your boyfriend won't mind me sitting here with you," Murdock answered, watching her warily, ready to catch her again if she'd show any sign of weakness.

"He won't because I don't have a boyfriend. And Tabby and I'd really like to thank you very much for your help," Belinda added after a few minutes. "And... well... it's a kind of excuse if I bothered you when I looked at you so often." The pilot shook his head to express that he hadn't felt bothered by her looking over. Besides, he couldn't believe that a pretty young lady like this really wouldn't have a beau. The men she met had to be dumb or blind or both or whatever. Since he was still touched by having seen her pass out, he volunteered to set the table. Thankfully, Belinda pointed at a cabinet across the room where she kept the tableware. While he poured two cups of coffee, added sugar to his and, according to her advice, lots of milk to hers, Murdock started humming the melody of an old Frank Sinatra song called "Something stupid" he suddenly remembered. His humming was a bit off-key so it took Belinda a few moments to place the tune. The pilot brought the coffee to the table and sat down next to Belinda on the bunk to give her some support with his arm when he saw her breathing harder and closing her eyes again. He felt his heart begin to pound when she fell back against his arm. Carefully, Murdock put the cup up to Belinda's lips, trying to keep a steady hand, so she could drink some of the caramel-colored liquid. He remembered having read that caffeine could push up the blood pressure really good. When she had swallowed and looked up at him, he took one of the muffins made of shredded almonds, flour, and crunched sugar-coated cornflakes added to a mixture of milk, sweet cream and yogurt, and filled with some pieces of chocolate the baking process had melted. He peeled off the baking paper and started giving her the cupcake a bite at a time, followed by the coffee a sip at a time.

"Not so hasty, Bessie. You're gonna get the hiccups. The little guy here won't run away," he restricted her sotto voce, giving her a shy hug to support her. The sight of her looking up at him with her dark eyes made Murdock think of a little animal asking for protection. He gave her a friendly and encouraging smile. Belinda couldn't help returning it. She felt surprisingly good in the pilot's arm.

"Thank you," she whispered back, putting her head on his shoulder. Murdock answered with a brighter smile when he felt his heart beat slow down again step by step. The medic had said the young woman had broken down because of low blood pressure – really no big deal at all – but what if it happened again and there was nobody around to help her? Murdock didn't want to imagine that this nice young lady might get hurt when she collapsed again. Although she wasn't really slender, she might break, twist or fracture something if it happened again.

Initially, he hadn't been sure what to think of her offer. His old CIA instincts had suggested the young woman might be a spy for the Military Police. But then again, another closer look into her eyes made him dismiss that thought. Such a kind and friendly person – a woman wearing Chuck Taylors with a dress at that! – didn't strike him as the beautiful but cold-hearted kind of woman who would work for Military Police guys. Besides, his guts were protesting because he had skipped breakfast this morning, and the coffee in the V. A.'s cafeteria wasn't worth a rush. Even the huge amount of sugar Murdock never forgot to add couldn't make it taste more than acceptable. In fact, it tasted worse than three-day-old Coca-Cola in an open bottle having stood seven inches from the midday sun for hours. Nothing compared to the strong-flavored beverage in his cup. The coffee and the muffins had smelled delicious enough to make him follow the invitation of this nice and gentle young lady. Besides, he felt bad to leave her alone. The pilot still didn't know exactly why the young lady had fainted – he remembered having read once that low blood pressure could have a lot of reasons – but it hadn't looked good to him at all.

Some time later, when Murdock and Belinda had finished breakfast, and the pilot had noticed that the young lady was feeling much better again, he took his arm off her and moved to the chair next to the bunk to lean back and stretch out his legs in front of him, smiling contently. He felt as if he hadn't had such a good breakfast in ages.

Belinda was still too shy to ask him many questions. It embarrassed her that she had fallen down like a chopped tree right in front of him. Fumbling with her mug most of the time and looking at him from the corners of her eyes, she had hardly spoken a dozen words. So, Murdock mainly had asked her about the symbol on her ring that had turned out to be the eye of Ra, an ancient Egyptian god, before he asked about Tabby who was sitting on a chair facing him with her front paws on the table, looking at him curiously. Belinda was most astonished that her cat had gone to visit Murdock, of all people, not even knowing him.

"Maybe the little feline lady here saw you watching me," the pilot supposed and reached out to scratch the cat's head.

"Might be. I hope it didn't bother you?" Belinda inquired. Murdock shrugged when the cat jumped onto the table. She sneaked across the table to jump on the chair next to him and then onto his lap.

"Didn't bother me," he said while he scratched the cat's ears. "Just wonderin' why you keep lookin' over?"

The young woman took a very deep breath and lowered her gaze before she gave an answer.

"Well, I know this may sound absurd, but it somehow comforts me when I look at you," she said quietly and looked at him again.

"But you don't know anythin' about me," Murdock objected and couldn't help grinning knowingly, "I mean, I could be a lunatic or something."

"I'm not worried. To be honest, I think you're interesting and... well, pretty damn cute, too. And when I watch you I just get the feeling as if all things gone wrong could be fixed again, no matter how wrong they've gone and no matter what it takes."

Murdock felt a blush creeping up his face so he quickly took his cup and drank to hide the old habit that sometimes showed up when he was around pretty women. This had been the nicest compliment he had heard in years.

_Wait till Faceman gets a load of this! _he thought and had to struggle hard not to burst out laughing when he imagined the con man's reaction to the news. Murdock knew exactly how Face could be when a woman preferred the dark-haired pilot over him – it usually made the blond con man pout like a kid who doesn't get the toy the elder brother is playing with at the moment. It had happened before, and Face had been going all huffy every time as if someone had dragged his reputation in the mud on purpose.

"H. M.? You okay?" Belinda wondered when she noticed him biting the tip of his thumb to keep the laughter inside. He gave her a nod and blink in respond.

_She's really the nicest woman I met since… hell, I can't remember when__,_ he thought. _No five-course gourmet meal. More like macaroni and cheese chased with hot coffee. You get what you see – a pretty young lady having her feet planted on the ground. I mean, she's wearing Chuck Taylors with a dress!__ And her hair's shorter than mine or Face's! Funny to see a woman with so short hair – but it suits her! __And her muffins are great – well, not as good as Gran's apple pie, but really, really yummy! She sure got a talent there! Would be nice to eat those muffins more often… There's a lot going on behind those pretty eyes of hers, too. And – on top of all that – the young lady seems to like me, too! _A mouthful of coffee went down his windpipe at this thought.

"H. M.? You okay?" Belinda asked again when the pilot coughed and gasped for air. Cautiously, she touched his wrist.

"Yeah, all fine, just some coffee gone down the wrong pipe," Murdock said as soon as he could breathe better and gave her one of his brightest smiles. "Indeed, things can be fixed again. Trust me. Everything can be set right again, once you got the heart to try and the courage to rush in where lesser hearts won't dare."

"I sure hope that's true, H. M.," Belinda replied.

"Trust me, it is true. I've seen it more than once myself," he said and patted her shoulder before he knocked down the rest of his coffee. "I gotta go for now but I sure would like to get together again soon. It was very nice meetin' you and your little feline lady, so I'd be happy if we'd stay in touch. Maybe you can visit me someday, too. Then I can show you my humble home." Murdock bid a fond adieu to Belinda and Tabby and went back for the V. A. at twelve noon, humming the song again.

To his great relief, and since he had thought of putting a dummy dressed in one of his old t-shirts and one of his spare ball caps into his bed under the covers before leaving, to pretend he was in deep sleep, nobody had noticed that he had been gone. Content with himself, the pilot put the dummy back into his closet after he had eaten enough of his lunch so that the pills would have company. Then, he picked up the phone and called Face to make him come to the V. A., not really caring that he had woken up the con man. Then,the pilot laid down on his bed and looked at the ceiling to wait for Face showing up. Murdock couldn't wait to tell his best friend about the very pleasant meeting and to see his expression.

When Belinda prepared to leave her house for work at seven-thirty in the next morning, she found a white envelope with the light-colored picture of an antique red double-decker plane printed in the up-hand left corner in her mailbox with her name and address in even, tight-written lines on the front and the initials "H. M." on the back. Inside there was a neatly folded sheet of white unlined paper with the same picture printed across it. Murdock's grandfather had bought it as a present for his seventh birthday. Since then the pilot had used it mostly for an occasional letter home from Vietnam to the few persons he had held very dear at that time.

"_Dear Bessie,"_ the letter said, _"__When I was at your place__, I've been meaning to tell you one more thing.__ It __was __very __nice meeting you and your little feline lady. And if you feel like talking with a friendly person, please feel free to come over__ and ask for me__. By the way, I'd be happy if you'd feel good enough to come by on Friday. Like that old Frank Sinatra song goes – do you think you have the time to spend an evening with me? Friday's gonna be Movie Night in the hospital and I'd like to invite you. Mostly they show classics like 'Casablanca', that sorta stuff. On Friday, they'll be showing 'High Society', a 1940's movie if my memory doesn't fail me. I'll pick you up at six pm; hope that's okay with you._

_Please take good care of you._

_Ciao for now and see ya soon,_

_H. M. Murdock _

_Captain, United States Army"_

Belinda blinked in surprise. Was this nice and handsome guy really asking her out? Yes, he was indeed. The young woman nodded slowly to herself, confirming her own question and smiling a little. It had been a while since she had had a date.

Besides, she had been sure that she had failed making a good first impression on the nice and handsome Captain. But she obviously seemed to have impressed him despite the collapse. The thought made her feel fine again. Smiling, she read the letter over once again, put it back into the envelope and attached the envelope to her fridge door so it would remind her of the date. While she went to the bus stop around the corner, she, too, started humming the melody of "Something stupid".


	2. Chapter Two: The magical Movie Night

After Murdock had eaten a few bites of his lunch and had called Face to talk him into coming in the V. A. for a visit, he had laid down on his bed to get some rest. He still felt really good having had the delicious breakfast, not to mention the quality of the company. Besides, he was glad he had been present to help the young woman when she had collapsed, so Murdock had told every detail of the morning he considered mentionable to his best friend.

The pilot knew very well that the con man would be displeased about the fact that a woman had preferred Murdock over Face once again – even if she hadn't met the con man yet. They had seen it before, and every time it had sent Face into a real huff and Murdock made laugh up his sleeve.

Besides, it had been a long time since the pilot had met such a nice and interesting young lady, and he just had to tell somebody. Although Belinda's muffins hadn't been as good as the apple pie Murdock's grandmother had used to bake they had tasted wonderful. Beating his grandmother's apple pie would be very hard anyway since H. Emma Murdock had been a real expert on homemade meals. Murdock often remembered her food fondly, especially on holidays like Thanksgiving or on his birthday when she always had prepared his favorite meals.

"And you're sure she's not a Decker bug?" Face wondered when Murdock had finished his tale.

"Sure as shootin'!" the pilot answered.

"Why?" The Lieutenant held on to his point.

"Because, Faceman!" the Captain explained. "She's way too gentle to work for such assholes!"

Face considered these words and was a bit surprised that he indeed couldn't say anything against them. Murdock was right – so far, every Military Police spy, no matter if man or woman, had turned out to be a cold-hearted bastard. Sometimes the con man assumed that this characteristic was needed in the first place to get the job. And the way Murdock described his new neighbor, the young lady really seemed to be as good-hearted as could be.

"Okay, Murdock," Face said finally. "Just to be social, I'll take your word." The pilot pulled a melodramatic face and rolled his eyes before he grinned and winked at his best friend. The two men gave each other a friendly hug before Face left again. Murdock took the chance to doze off for a couple of hours, sleeping amazingly carefree.

Friday came sooner than Belinda had expected. She had taken a few days off from her job as a secretarial assistant in the office of an adults' school to prepare herself carefully for her first date in months, and as always, the free time made her loose track a bit. She had thought long and hard about what to wear on the date. As she didn't want to disappointthe pilotshe had decided to repolish her finger nails and toe nails with a purple nail polish she had bought a few days ago. Even if it wasn't a too-fancy date, she had chosen a long blue dress with little white flowers to wear with a pair of black peep-toe sandals with wedged heels and her red jogging top. After all, she considered it to be a date, and a date required adequate clothes.

On Friday morning, Belinda took a bath with vanilla scented oil added to the water to relax and prepare mentally for the date. She felt as if she was out of practice concerning dates. So she hoped that the handsome Captain – as she was calling Murdock to herself by now – wouldn't be disappointed with her, unaware he hadn't been on a date for some time, either.

The tall pilot came to her door at six pm sharp to pick her up, just as he had promised. As his first date in months was a special occasion to him, too, he had borrowed a navy sports coat from Face to wear it with a black long-sleeved t-shirt imitating a tuxedo front, his black ball cap for special occasions, his khakis – neatly pressed by the laundry staff – and his tennis shoes. In the morning, he had asked one of the nurses who always treated him kind to get him some flowers. In addition, he had made an appointment at the V. A.'s hair dresser to get a hair cut.

Belinda took a deep breath when she heard a knocking on the door. The first thing she saw was a big flower arrangement in Murdock's hand. Realizing he had dressed up for the Movie Night, she felt slightly underdressed and thought of changing into another, more adequqate dress. But Murdock's beaming smile and his friendly voice made her stop in mid-movement.

"For a pretty young lady who didn't mind going out on a picture show date with a crazy guy," he said gently, bowing deeply and handing her the flowers. Obviously, he wasn't disappointed at all by her everyday dress. It seemed as if he had expected her to wear this. His brown eyes were shining from under his cap when he looked her over. He was a bit amazed how good she looked, almost as good as in the blue cotton dress.

"Please come in. Thank you for the flowers," Belinda said before hurrying into the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers.

"Did you just say _crazy_?" she wondered when she came back into the living-room where Murdock had waited, sitting on the couch and scratching Tabby's ears when the cat had come to greet him. He nodded to confirm her question, and suddenly, the young woman remembered what he had said when he had taken Tabby home and they had talked at her door.

"Y'know, after the war, I was officially declared insane. Post traumatic stress disorder, they called it," Murdock explained hesitatingly when Belinda sat down next to him, "I've seen a lot of horrible and ugly things in war, things that affected me and got deep under my skin, making me wish sometimes that I had died in battle with so many of my comrades. That's why I live at the hospital. And that's why I'm nicknamed_ Howlin' Mad_." He gave her a half-grin before he added, "Remember what I said when you told me that you like me? When we talked on the day we met? So don't you say I didn't warn you." The half-grin changed into a broad tooth-ridden grin when he gently ran his index finger along her chin.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Belinda couldn't help smiling at the funny gesture.

"Good for you." Murdock winked at her. He was slightly stunned because he had just told half of his life to this young lady he barely knew – not to mention that he had touched her face without wondering if she might argue. And he was surprised that this gentle and pretty young woman obviously was willing to go out with him. The warm and friendly expression in her black-brown eyes had made him feel as if he could trust her lock, stock and barrel – a very unusual situation for Murdock. The pilot wasn't used to trust a person easily because of the ugly things he had been through in his life – during his time in war and even in the V. A. – but he felt good being around her. As a certified lunatic, he was used to strange things of the highest rank but this emotion was almost off the charts.

"Shall we go, Milady?" he asked, mimicking the affected speech pattern of a British manservant, getting up and offering her his arm. Getting up, too, she looped her arm through his and smiled at him before locking her door and letting him lead her.

When they entered the hospital's entrance hall, the young nurse sitting behind the desk stepped out into Murdock's path with her hands on her hips and asked him about Belinda. The pilot stopped short before running into the petite and stern-looking redhead and took a deep breathe before hesitatingly taking Belinda's hand into his, always expecting her to protest and withdraw and feeling relieved when she didn't.

"I invited this young lady to the Movie Night," the pilot answered the nurse's question and gave her a "_No messin' with me now! I'm serious!_"-stare, making her blush and sit down at her desk again.

"All right then, Captain Murdock. Have a nice evening," she called after him as the pilot lead Belinda towards the cafeteria that was used as a makeshift cinema tonight, moving through the other hospital inhabitants as if they weren't there at all. Murdock raised his hand to indicate that he had heard the nurse before he took Belinda to an unoccupied seat and went to get a bowl of hot-buttered popcorn.

"So, you're a Captain?" Belinda asked while eating a few crumbs of the popcorn.

"Hope you're not disappointed that I ain't a Major or something." Murdock looked at her from the corners of his eyes as she had sounded surprised and he couldn't tell why. He had rested his arm on the back of Belinda's chair so his fingers were resting close to her shoulder, hardly touching the fabric of her jogging top. With his other hand, he threw popcorn into his mouth with the speed of a machine gun. Belinda couldn't help laughing quietly when she noticed that. The pilot smiled back at her. He was very glad that the young woman had agreed to this date. He felt like pulling her really close and kissing her. But for now, he didn't dare to do more than touch her shoulder. Maybe later, if he could come up with the courage.

"No, not at all," the young woman said, looking him over once again and meeting his eyes for a very long moment before lowering her gaze, "I just never met such a young Captain. I suppose you must have been a pretty good pilot if you got the rank so soon." She struggled hard not to lean against him, but his scent – a combination of soap, shaving foam, aftershave lotion and a little bit of sweat – and his friendly and mellow voice were very pleasant, and after a few minutes she gave in and put her head on the padded shoulder of his jacket, causing Murdock to jump in surprise, to give her a warm and very relieved smile, to run his index finger along her chin again and to caress her cheek. The pilot enjoyed the thought that she really seemed to like him the way he was.

"Thanks. I really was quite good. The rank's not always a question of age, y'know. Truth be told I'm an ace pilot, the youngest pilot to join the Thunderbirds. One of the best chopper pilots in Vietnam, they called me. If it's got wings, I can fly it. But that damn war broke me so the government in its infinite wisdom certified me as insane and put me in here. Say, how many Captains did you meet so far?" he said, unable to hide a grin.

"Since my father was a military man I ran across about 20 Captains, over the years, including you. Most of them were much older, 10 or even 15 years your senior," Belinda replied, making Murdock look at her in surprise until the movie started, a 1940's love story starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra neither Murdock nor Belinda had seen before. Belinda looked questioningly into Murdock's face, especially into his eyes. Hearing him mention the damage the war had given him had scared her a bit but she still felt like staying beside him forever and a day to enjoy his presence. Of course, she had heard people talking about Vietnam before – one of the wars she, herself, considered one of the nastiest wars in American history – but until tonight this had just been some kind of dreadful tales to her that had made her wonder about mankind's wretched and sad ability of mistreating other people and make up implausible excuses for their deeds. Now, she would be about to see with her own two eyes what war really could do to people. The pilot had been over there himself, he had seen the war in all of its horrible clarity, and despite of all the blood and slaying, he had made his way home, and obviously he had been able to remain more decent than most of the men she had met before. On one hand, hearing him talk about the war gave her the creeps; on the other hand, she supposed it was important for him that he could tell her about it; that she would listen, maybe even understand. Even if it would be a hard task. It saddened her when he mentioned something he called Electro Convulsive Therapy in the V. A. from time to time, and she wasn't entirely sure if she could really cope with hearing this stuff. But she would do her best because she respected that he had survived considering he had to have been rather young – maybe hardly old enough to shave – when he had been over there. But madman or not, the look in his big brown eyes was much warmer and brighter than the eyes of most men she had met before, and she felt good being around him. She sensed that he wasn't dangerous. And yet, she couldn't help wondering how much damage the war had really given him.

"Well then, how old do you think I am?" Murdock suddenly wondered. Belinda studied his face in the movie's flickering light.

"About twenty-four, twenty-five?" she supposed, giving him a shy smile that made the pilot blush slightly.

"Why, thanks," he chuckled, touched by the fact that he apparently looked so young to her, "In fact, my thirtieth birthday's sneakin' up on me real fast."

"Still, that makes you a quite young Captain," Belinda said, touching his hand accidentally as both reached into the popcorn bowl at the same time, lightly brushing each other's fingers. The sudden contact was electrifying and made Murdock almost drop the popcorn.

_Thank God it's not a horror movie or I'd have jumped out of my skin__,_ Belinda thought, her heart beating wildly. It took her a while to settle down again.

For some reason she assumed Murdock might have not invited her at all if it had been a horror movie. Besides, she supposed he might not have been able to take a sudden touch while watching a horror movie, either. She could see clearly he liked being here with her, and she could see he was rather excited, too.

"Thanks for the compliment," the pilot whispered, taking a deep breath and gathering as much of his courage as possible to take a piece of popcorn from the bowl before clearing his throat and tapping the piece softly against Belinda's lips as if to ask, "Anybody home?" He felt his heart turn a somersault when he saw the young woman smile and open her lips to let him push the bit of popcorn into her mouth. A slight tingle went along his arm when her lips closed again, slightly brushing the tip of his index finger.

Murdock couldn't concentrate on the movie any longer when his left hand seemed to come alive on its own in the dimmed light of the makeshift cinema, softly creeping over Belinda'sshoulder and along her arm. Feeling the gentle touch, Belinda held her breath for a moment. When his thumb touched the wrist, the pulse felt warm and pleasant in its fast yet steady pace. Slowly, his hand slid down to lift her hand. He looked at the nails glistening in the dim light and, following an inspiration, he softly kissed the back, just brushing the skin with his lips.

"I feel like going for a little walk," he said, kissed the back of her hand again and looked into her eyes as good as he could in the dim light. "Would ya like to join me?"

"With pleasure," the young woman said after a moment, looked up at him and smiled, causing Murdock to beam all over his face. The two left the makeshift cinema and headed for the park.

The night was warm and balmy. A crescent moon behind some shredded clouds and the stars were shining as bright as they could against the streetlights, giving the park a silverish glow. Murdock lead Belinda to a small picnic table with benches under an old oak tree in a corner of the hospital's park. It was one of Murdock's favorite places to sit and read a book on a sunny day, a hiding place not even Face knew about. From here, the hospital was almost out of sight so he could feel careless and free in those rare moments; he could forget that he was in a hospital park.

They sat down on the bench, and in the silence of the park, under the sky full of moon and stars, Murdock finally worked up all of his courage to put his hands on Belinda's shoulders from behind as if to give her a massage and pull her closer. His heart flip-flopped in his ribcage when she followed the soft pressure of his hands and leaned against him. Smiling, she took his left hand and caressed the back of his hand with her index finger. Murdock took a deep breath before he put both hands back on her shoulders and bent down to brush her temple with the softest of kisses. Then, he put his cheek against her temple, making Belinda smile.

"You know, you're really one of a kind!" she said. She hadn't met a guy like him before, nice, handsome and clearly interested in her but obviously far from pushing her into doing something she'd refuse.

"And you're the nicest gal I met in a donkey's lifetime – um, in a long time, I mean. I'm really glad we met, Bessie," the pilot replied in a low voice. He shifted into a better position and bent forward again to cup her face gently with both hands and to look enquiringly into her sparkling eyes – searching for a hint of doubt or fear, anything that should give him a reason to stop – before kissing tenderly her forehead, the tip of her nose and her cheeks. Finally, after another questioning look into her starlit eyes, he worked up the rest of his courage, kissed her cheeks again and put his lips onto hers, tasting her soft mouth and her sweet lip balm. The kiss was amazingly gentle, although firm, and certainly had a certain touch that defined it from the majority of kisses Belinda had participated in before. She held onto the pilot's shoulders so he could put his nose against her shoulder and inhale the scent of her skin.

"You smell as wonderful as the flowers I gave you," he whispered and was cheerful when his words made Belinda smile and pull him close to kiss his cheek.

"And I never knew that a man could be so gentle," she returned the compliment and couldn't help giggling when she felt him pulling her close to hug her, his long fingers gliding over her back, his thumbs accidentally poking her armpits and hitting a very sensitive spot on her. Belinda laughed quietly when she felt the touch. Frowning, Murdock pulled back from her to look into her face.

"What is it, Bessie, sweet darlin'?" he wondered, "Did I do somethin' wrong? Y'alright?"

"Yes, I am, and no, you didn't, H. M., handsome Captain. Everything's okay," Belinda answered and rested her head on his shoulder again. She didn't like the thought of not telling him the truth, but she didn't want to tell him that she was ticklish, either. If he found out himself, it was a different story. But she had made the mistake of mentioning her sensitivity to a man too often in the past, giving him the chance to use it against her. So, she decided to hold her tongue this time.

About half an hour later, they heard the other V. A.'s inhabitants leaving the makeshift cinema, indicating that the Movie Night had come to an end, and Murdock walked Belinda home. By now, he dared holding her hand without worrying it might be improper to do so. The dark eyes of the young woman were twinkling in the moonlight when they embraced each other in front of her door and she looked up to smile at him and thank him for the very nice evening.

"Pleasure's all mine," Murdock answered and blinked in amazement when she hugged him tightly and rested her cheek against the cool leather of his jacket. The embrace sent a shiver down Murdock's spine and a light blush up his face. But despite the tenderness they had shared already, he didn't dare to mention how much he enjoyed her presence because he wasn't entirely sure if Belinda would feel the same about him. Now, being convinced she seemed to, he felt relieved. Although he had decided that tonight wouldn't be the last time they would meet he definitely thought it to be unsuitable to come in with her at such a late hour, nice evening or no nice evening. So, he just returned the hug, kissed her cheek, and set off for the V. A. When he reached the entrance, he turned around and waved his hand at her.

Belinda looked over at his shape standing in the V. A.'s door and returned the gesture before she entered her house to sit down on the couch and think the evening over again until Tabby came strolled along, asking for some attention as she had been on her own all evening. The cat made herself comfortable next to her mistress on the couch and purred when Belinda took her on her lap and started striking the velvety fur. Finally, the cat squirmed to free herself from her mistress' arms and went towards the living room's door. She called a goodbye before leaving the house. It was about twelve midnight when Belinda got ready to go to sleep. She took a quick shower and changed her clothes into a two-piece bright red pajama with little white spots. It had a top with spaghetti straps and a low-cut neck and a short pantie. Suddenly, she heard noise from downstairs as if someone was trying to enter the house through one of the windows. It was answered by the angry barking of a dog. The sound made her think it was a big one. She slipped on a black cotton beach dress with embroided flowers on the front she used to wear as a housecoat, crept downstairs again to check, and noticed a dark shadow in front of the biggest living room window. A taller, familiar-looking shadow stood next to the first shadow and seemed to hold the other one's neck in a firm grip. Belinda reached out for the telephone to call the police and sighed in relief when she heard a recognizable voice shout, "Now get the hell outta here, Muchacho!" She couldn't hear an answer when Murdock added in a low and threatening speech pattern, "There's a bus leavin' in 5 minutes, and ya better be under it before I'll get really mad!" A low murmur answered to that before the other shadow crept away. Then, Belinda heard a quiet rapping on the window frame.

"Bessie?" Murdock asked. "Y'alright?"

"Yep," she answered, adjusted her dress and opened the window.

"I saw the guy sneakin' around your house, so I thought I'd better come over to make sure everything's okay," he explained, looking at her questioningly.

"You did a good job scaring him off," Belinda smiled.

"Did he steal something?" The pilot cranked his neck to look inside the living room.

"No, he didn't get the chance. Besides, I don't have much to steal." The young woman smiled thankfully at the tall pilot.

"He didn't hurt you, either, did he?" Murdock asked.

"No, he didn't. I don't think he noticed that I was in, and I don't think he'll come back again, either. You made an impressive watch dog."

"Thanks. But I feel bad leaving you alone. The brainless moron really might come back and try it again. Who knows what he'll do when he finds you all by yourself," Murdock objected when suddenly Tabby jumped onto the window-sill, looking at her mistress and the pilot. She meowed and purred to make them caress her coat. After a few minutes, Murdock's left hand stayed on top of Belinda's right hand, and he caressed it gently with his thumb. He looked into her eyes, and his worried expression made Belinda realize that it indeed seemed to be important to the lanky pilot to know her safe. She decided it was okay to let him sleep on her sofa bed. So he could be on guard and would be able to interfere if something might happen. She said, "And I feel bad letting you stand out there all night. I can offer you my sofa bed in the living room to sleep on if you like."

"I do like!" A grin spread on the pilot's face as he hurried to the front door and knocked.

Belinda hurried to open the door before preparing the sofa bed for her unexpected guest. The pilot followed her into the living room and sat down on the couch as soon as it was prepared. After a moment's hesitation, Belinda sat down next to him.

"Thanks for coming back, H. M.," she said and smiled at him.

"My pleasure, Bessie. Couldn't let this guy hurt ya, could I?" he whispered, took off his jacket and tossed it aside. At once, Tabby went to investigate it and made herself comfortable in one of the sleeves.

"Sweet dreams, handsome Captain," Belinda whispered back, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"There are many guys who would go and try to take advantage of the situation now," she said, tenderly looking into his eyes, making her feel like diving into a lake of liquid chocolate.

"But you don't," she added. Murdock smiled proudly when he noticed that she wasn't asking but stating.

"No, sweet darlin'," he answered, holding her gaze, "I'd never do that. It's against the rules to treat a woman that way."

"What rules, handsome Captain?" Belinda wondered. Murdock gave her a small gentle grin.

"The rules of decency, of course," he said and put his hands on Belinda's shoulders, caressing her neck with his thumb. "Not to mention my own, sweet darlin'."

The touch and his words soothed her a bit, but they also sent a shiver along her spine.

"Thank you, handsome Captain," she said. Murdock smiled when he heard her answer to the nickname he had given her before he pulled her close, putting an arm protectively around her shoulder and patting her back. Belinda shivered again when she felt the reassuring touch of his long, slim fingers. She felt like pinching herself to make sure that this wasn't a dream; that this gentle and handsome man was actually sitting next to her on the sofa bed and holding her soothingly in his arms now, having protected her and her small amount of possessions just a few minutes ago after they had spent a nice evening together. And she liked the fact that he had treated her decent.

"Safe and sweet dreams to you, sweet darlin'," Murdock answered in a low voice. His soft lips were just brushing her cheek while he ran his fingers through her soft locks, gently tucking a few strands of hair behind her left ear. After a few minutes of hesitation, she leaned closer against him, the way she had done in the park, putting her head on his shoulder again and her hand on his chest and closing her eyes for a moment when she felt his steady heart beat. She hadn't felt this good and safe in a long time.

"Safe and sweet dreams to you, too, handsome Captain," she answered in an equally hush voice, making him smile against her temple.

She was glad that the lanky pilot was obviously different from the other men she had met before. Whenever she looked into the infinity of his chocolate-brown, warm, and intelligent eyes, she could see he had deep feelings for her. Yet he didn't force her into letting him do more than kissing her forehead or her cheeks, tapping the tip of her nose, holding her hand, or putting his arm around her shoulders to give her a short hug and offering her a shoulder to lean on while they were sitting on the couch. As if there was some invisible frontier he didn't dare to cross yet because he'd get zapped as if touching an electrified fence if he tried. She didn't know why she was so surprised about his gentlemanly acting. Every touch, every word and every ever so little kiss was as gentle as one could wish for. As if he'd really never hurt her on purpose. Maybe it surprised her because she wasn't used to a man treating her this way.

"By the way, I wondered about the meaning of your initial. What does _J._ stand for?" the pilot suddenly asked before the young lady prepared to go to sleep.

"It stands for Janet," Belinda explained.

"Belinda Janet," Murdock repeated, rolling the words around his mouth like candy. "Whatta nice name it is."

"Wish I could say the same," Belinda answered. Murdock just gave her a hug and smile before she left for her bedroom.

The sun was up already when the pilot slowly awoke and noticed Tabby sitting on top of his blanket. The cat meowed softly and tapped the tip of his nose with her paw to greet him.

"Hey! Go find your own nose!" the pilot gently argued, waved the paw away and reached out to tap Tabby's head with his index finger. Tabby tapped his nose again as if to say, "Gotcha!"

"Okay, okay, you made yourself clear, Miss Tabby – you don't want me to sleep on," the pilot said and sat up, unable to hide a grin. "Well, I am up now, see?" He could hear some soft jazz music playing in the kitchen and supposed Belinda was up already, too. He checked his watch and was surprised to see that he had slept almost two hours longer than usual. He smiled when Tabby crept on his lap, laid down and closed her eyes to enjoy the caressing. But all the lanky pilot really could think of was pulling Belinda into his arms for a good and long old-fashioned kiss, like the one they had shared in the park, hopefully leading to more than just staying at her place. This wish somewhat surprised him. He had know this woman for just a couple of days now, and he wasn't used to do things to a woman to make her touch or kiss him, but Murdock enjoyed Belinda's presence, and he already yearned to feel, touch and taste every inch of her light brown skin, to become one with her. Despite of the short time they had met ago, it just felt right to him. When he looked at her dainty fingers for too long, he caught himself thinking about taking her hand and tasting her fingers or pulling her close and kissing her again. This emotion was kind of confusing – although it was wonderful to feel those butterflies inside his stomach, it definitely had to be against the rules to have such feelings so soon. It just had to be!

For the first time in years, the thought about getting married had crossed the pilot's mind once again, even if that would mean a line of questions he wasn't sure how to answer, either from Belinda's parents or the young lady herself.

Murdock watched Belinda enter the room, holding a cup of coffee in each hand. She handed him one of the cups, warned him not to burn his fingers, and sat down on the edge of the bed to drink from the other cup. The pilot took a sip of the coffee, too, smiled at the young woman and said, "Good mornin', Bessie. I hope you slept well. Thanks for the coffee and for the warnin'. Um, may I…?" When she smiled back at him and nodded, he put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek, shivering slightly when he felt her fingers touch his shoulder, strike his neck and take a sudden and soft grip at his hair.

"Thanks for protecting me," she whispered, feeling love and desire stimulated inside her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and melted into his sweet kisses and the touch of his long fingers.

"You're very welcome, sweet darlin'," Murdock replied, looking deep into her black-brown eyes and noticing her emotions stirring up in the same way his were.

"Have I told you yet that you're lookin' wonderful in this dress, sweet darlin'?" the pilot asked, looking her over.

"Not yet, handsome Captain," Belinda replied, smiling and caressing his cheek. Murdock gave her the brightest grin he could muster up at this early hour. He liked the nickname, and he felt as if he'd never get tired of hearing her call him handsome. It made him feel as if it just had to be this way. A woman always seemed to have a tender nickname for a man she was fond of.

"Still – I'm sorry that I almost forgot to mention it," the pilot insisted, hanging his head a bit, as if in shame. Belinda cupped his chin to make him look up at her again and pecked him on the cheek when she noticed the gleam in his eyes indicating that he was just joking.

"Don't blame yourself, handsome Captain," she said. "You just woke up, and you just had your first sip of coffee." When Murdock gave her another broad grin, the young woman snuggled close against him and felt his fingers caressing her head and neck before he put his forehead against hers and whispered, "May I take you upstairs?" When she nodded, he smiled happily, got up and picked her up on both arms. Smiling, Belinda held on to his shoulders and let him carry her up the stairs. She was a bit impressed that he could really lift her up as he wasn't looking very strong.

When he put her down on top of the bed and sat down next to her, Belinda couldn't hold back any longer herself. She softly took his hand and pulled him close to kiss his lips and unbutton his shirt before pulling it slowly over his shoulders, opening the sleeve buttons, sliding the shirt down his arms and running her hands down from his neck to his chest. Murdock knelt down on the bed and took off his t-shirt before his fingers searched for the hem of her dress to take it off. It took some time until Murdock dared to push up the pajama top and take off her pajama bottoms, too.

"You're so pretty, sweet darlin'," he said, looking at the young woman in the black bikini underwear she had worn underneath her pajama. She smiled when he slowly bent down to caress the soft curve of her belly and touch it with his lips before he shed the lingerie top to investigate the soft skin of her bosom with the tips of his fingers and to place little kisses all over her face and along her throat and the collar bone to the shoulder, making her shiver in delight every time his soft lips touched her skin. They looked into each other's eyes and felt that they were doing the right thing. The hell with the short time they had met just ago! Belinda hugged Murdock as close as possible and shifted to open her legs wider. The pilot moved to kneel down next to her legs. He kissed and caressed her belly again and looked into her eyes once more before he slowly slipped down her underpants as he had seen the look of unyielding love in her black-brown eyes – that and nothing more, neither hesitation nor fear whatsoever. He smelled the moisture from between her legs mixed with her perfume and the scent of her skin, making his body react in a way it hadn't reacted in a long time.

Slowly and carefully, they undressed one another, sharing lots of tender kisses, sensuously touching each other, before Murdock held on to her shoulders and moved into the right position to enter her holiest of holiest. Belinda held her breath for a moment when she felt his tip touch her moist entrance. Then she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him as close as possible. He kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth, and, following the pressure of her legs, he gently began to push himself into her warm and moist entrance. Slowly moving inside her, he let his lips wander down her neck to her bosom, kissing the soft flesh, grazing it lightly with his front teeth and playfully teasing the nipple with the tip of his tongue, then tracing small kisses all over her bosom and along her breastbone, her throat and her jaw to meet her lips again, stopping for a moment to nibble softly at a pulse point – making Belinda groan quietly in ecstasy. After the orgasm he slipped out of her again and lied down next to her, snuggling close to her, wrapping his long arms around her waist and kissing her, happy and satisfied. Belinda put her arms around his shoulders and smiled when their lips parted. It had been a while since she had been in bed with such a gentle and passionate man, and she had enjoyed every second with him. In fact, feeling safe in his arms that held her close against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder and smelling his pleasurable scent, she caught herself wishing to make love with him over and over again… until the end of her life if it were up to her.

_Where, oh where have you been all my life, my handsome Captain_, she thought, feeling her blood rush through every part of her body. She opened her eyes, and ran her hand through the hair on his chest below his Adam's apple. A happy smile spread on Murdock's face when he felt the touch. He had enjoyed making love to her a lot, too.

Bit by bit, the pilot and the young woman drifted off to sleep, their naked bodies entwined. They held each other close until noontime when Tabby came into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed to demand lunch on top of her kitty lungs.

"I'm gonna take care of it, sweet darlin', and you…" the pilot muttered, stabbing Belinda's breastbone lightly with a finger to make his point, "You're gonna stay put." He kissed her again, and left the bed to put on his underpants, his t-shirt, his socks and his sneakers and go feed the cat. Then, he bent down again to kiss Belinda's lips. The young woman, still feeling rather drowsy from the suddenly interrupted nap, gave him a thankful smile when their lips parted.

"There's an open can of cat food in the fridge door and a metal bowl on the cupboard. Let the food stand on the table for a few minutes, or it'll be too cold for Tabby. And don't let her talk you into opening a fresh can for her before the old can isn't finished," she advised him before pulling him close once more and kissing him back. Murdock looked at her again before he went into the kitchen. Tabby followed at his heels and watched him filling the metal bowl. She meowed sweetly and rubbed against his leg when he placed the bowl on the table. She jumped on a chair and sniffed the food a few times before she obviously considered it eatable.


	3. Chapter Three: Meeting the Team

Sitting in the passenger's seat of the black-and-red van in a narrow street around the corner from the V. A. in the break of day, Hannibal raised an eyebrow and looked in the rear-view mirror at Face climbing back into the vehicle. The Lieutenant hauled himself into his seat and leaned forward with a knowing smile in the corners of his mouth, his head hanging slightly, his forearms resting on his thighs slightly spread apart, his perfectly manicured hands dangling between them.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" the team leader inquired. Face jumped in surprise and raised his head so his bright blue eyes met the Colonel's faded blue Bombardier's eyes in the mirror.

"Oh, nothing…" Face said in an indifferent voice, running a hand through his honey-colored hair to make the strands feather neatly into place. Knowing him, it took Hannibal less than a second to realize that his Lieutenant was lying.

"If you got something to say, Lieutenant, out with it!" the team leader commanded. Face rolled his eyes and sighed but he gave in. He knew trying to argue with Hannibal was like trying to argue with a brick wall. No matter how hard he'd try, he'd loose in the long run. B. A. shifted in the driver's seat, growling something about "One foo' gone, still one left."

"Okay, okay! Have I got news for you, guys!" the con man said and rubbed his hand together, sounding more like an excited college boy than a full-grown man and hardened army Lieutenant, "Guess who's got a new girlfriend!"

"Lynch!" Hannibal grinned from ear to ear.

"Hell, no! The only girl who'd kiss Lynch is his mother!" Laughing quietly, Face shook his head, rolled his eyes and waved a dismissive hand.

"Murdock does!" he added, grinning broadly and sliding the van door shut.

"Huh?" Hannibal and B. A. turned in their seats and cranked their necks to look Face straight into the eyes to see if this was a joke.

"I swear it's true! Her name's Belinda Miller. They met on the day after we came back from Cuba. He told me when I visited him last time," the Lieutenant explained. "She lives across the street from the V. A. with her cat, right over there in the little house of red bricks, he said, and when I went to spring him today, I was told he invited her to the V. A.'s Movie Night he told us about some time ago, and the nurse told me that he walked her home after the Movie Night and hadn't come back to the V. A. since then. She said he must have spent the time at the lady's place. I guess she really must be something if Murdock likes her that much."

"The crazy foo' likes petroleum jelly on toast!" B. A. rumbled. The burly Sergeant who was dressed in a khaki jump suit with big stains of motor oil and cut-off sleeves emphasizing his muscles shook his head in disbelieve and crossed his arms over his chest while Hannibal just continued to grin. Since the Lieutenant had gone to visit the pilot almost a week and a half ago, the Colonel was quite impressed that Face had been able to keep the news about the pilot in love to himself for that long. Usually, Face was a tattletale when it came to interpersonal relationships. Over this item, the con man could be worse than a housewife at the beauty parlor.

"Well, you don't have to believe me – just go over and ask her yourself!" Face snapped and crossed his arms, obviously offended by the doubtful looks of his team mates.

"Well then… Lead on, McDuff!" Hannibal said. Immediately, Face slid the side door of the van open with a click and a scrap. He crossed the street and went straight towards a small two-story house made of red bricks. B. A. and Hannibal waited a moment before they followed the con man.

While the team was discussing the news in the van, Belinda, Tabby and Murdock were having breakfast. Murdock who was dressed in a bright blue t-shirt reading "Sensuous & Strong" in dark blue letters with his khaki pants and his sneakers was surprised to see that Tabby had put her front paws on the table again and was eating cooked and cut up chicken meat from her own small plate and drinking a mixture of whipped cream and water from her own little cup this morning. The cup and the plate looked as if they had belonged to a little girl's toy tea set some time ago. Murdock's jacket hung over the back of his chair. Belinda, wearing the long blue dress with little white flowers again, this morning underneath a black vest, raised her head when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll answer it," the pilot said when the young woman got up. He emptied his cup of sugared coffee to wash down the last bite of his fifth French toast and went for the door. Tabby and Belinda followed suit to see who had come. The cat stood up on her hind paws, scratched Murdock's pants and pleaded him to pick her up so she would see better.

"Gee! She's a nosy little lady, ain't she?" the pilot commented when the cat snuggled into his arms, meowed and gave the door an inquisitive stare.

"Yep, she sure is. Heaven forbid Little Missus here might miss the latest news. Sometimes I think she were a town crier if she were human," Belinda agreed. Grinning broadly, Murdock introduced his girlfriend and her cat to his team mates, using his best British accent. Belinda couldn't help laughing quietly. And of course, Face was the first one to respond to the introduction. He extended his right hand and waited until Belinda shook it smartly before he lifted her hand and gently kissed the back, barely touching her skin with his lips. There was a reputation to keep and a young lady to impress, an opportunity the con man wouldn't want to miss, even if the young lady wasn't his kind of woman exactly. Supposing she was fond of her cat and since he liked cats himself, the con man let Tabby sniff his hand before taking the cat's right paw between thump and index finger and shaking it gently, making the cat purr and the young woman smile in delight and causing Murdock's grin to spread from ear to ear. Besides, Face considered Tabby to be a pretty little lady in her red tabby fur. But, much to Murdock's delight and to Hannibal's and B. A.'s amusement, the elegantly dressed con man clearly didn't impress Belinda. Of course, Face was something to see in his fancy dark blue suit with the white dress shirt and the dark red tie with his honey colored hair and his bright blue eyes, giving her the best smile he could come up with. It was a smile that usually caused women to swoon into his arms by the dozen, but apparently the young lady really preferred the pilot to him. Belinda put her arms around Murdock's waist and rested her head against his biceps. Murdock grinned when he realized that he could rest his chin on her head easily since she was wearing no shoes this morning. So it was visible that she had polished her finger nails and her toe nails with the transparent nail polish again.

"How about some coffee or a bite to eat, gentlemen?" Belinda asked after Hannibal had introduced himself and B. A. as well, "We're still having breakfast." The team mates considered the thought and agreed as they hadn't had the chance to eat something yet. They sat down at the kitchen table while Belinda put Tabby's tableware into the sink to wash the little plate and cup and asked Murdock to get some coffee mugs and plates from a cabinet that was too high for her to reach without help. The pilot put Tabby onto the kitchen counter, grabbed Belinda's hand to pull her close and kiss her on the temple, and went for the mugs, one glass for B. A., and the plates. He put them on the table and sat down next to Belinda on the kitchen bunk to pour two cups of coffee and one glass of milk, took Belinda's hand and looked into her eyes. He told her that the burly Sergeant who had gobbled down his third French toast by now would take milk over coffee anytime.

Half an hour later, when the A-Team finally prepared to leave, Belinda walked them to the door and straightened up on her toes to wrap her arms around Murdock's shoulders and kiss him good-bye. Slowly sliding her hands along the long arms of the pilot to hold his hands, she turned towards Hannibal and asked him to bring the pilot back in one piece.

"He's needed," she explained, seeing the Colonel's inquisitive glance and switched her gaze back to the infinity of Murdock's eyes. The tall pilot wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close while the Colonel looked the pair over and couldn't help smiling.

"Okay, Ma'm," Hannibal said after a minute or so. "I'll have him back in one piece." Belinda smiled thankfully at the Colonel and put her head against Murdock's chest.

"Good luck to you, handsome Captain. And please be careful," she said. Both were ignoring the quiet laughter Face hadn't been able to hold back when he had heard the nickname. The pilot cupped Belinda's face with both hands, caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, and kissed her before shooting the Lieutenant a look.

"I hate to say good-bye, sweet darlin'. But it's time to go now," Murdock said, smiling at Belinda and looking into her eyes before he kissed her lips and ran his fingers through her hair. "Keep the faith, sweet darlin', and don't you worry – a crazy soldier can take a lot of things, lemme tell ya. And don't you ever forget that I love you. I'll see you soon again." Face chuckled once more to himself.

"I won't forget it, and I love you, too, handsome Captain," Belinda answered, smiling tenderly. Murdock put his forehead against hers. The couple shared a final hug and kiss before the team headed for the van.

"She sure is something and she's quite pretty, gotta give her that. And she really seems to like Murdock a lot. Heaven knows why but she surely does," Face said once the team was back in the van, driving along the street. None of his friends bothered with a comment. Hannibal was looking out of the window, chewing pensively on an unlit cigar and working on his plan although even he didn't know all the details of the mission yet. But being on the jazz again, the Colonel didn't really care. Plans could be changed anytime, depending on the situation, as long as there was a good base of operations to start from. B. A. was concentrating on the traffic, and Murdock was staring off into space, his chin resting on his palms, his elbows leaned on his knees. A happy and kind of proud smile spread on the pilot's face while he remembered this morning when Belinda had woken him up with a cup of strong and sugared coffee and one of the tenderest kisses he had gotten in a long time. She had run her hand gently through his thinning brown hair and had told him he had given her the best kisses she had gotten in ages. Smiling proudly, Murdock slouched farther into his seat to stretch out his legs in front of him as far as possible and cross them at the ankles before he let his mind wander off again when all of a sudden an idea struck him to kill some time.

"Are we there yet?" he asked, impersonating Duffy Duck's annoyed falsetto speech disorder, and leaned forward again. The question was answered by a dangerous-sounding grumbling from the depth of B. A.'s throat and his frowning in the rear view mirror. However, this reaction was all it took to make Murdock lean back into his seat at once, fall silent again and return his thoughts to Belinda's sparkling black-brown eyes underneath the long lashes and her sexy round body with the smooth skin that was so wonderfully warm and inviting, so pleasant to touch. Contently, B. A. turned his concentration back to driving. The burly Sergeant had expected the pilot to be bored and start to chatter sooner or later, like he always did when they were on the road. Nonetheless, Murdock had held his tongue longer than any of the teammates had expected. But either way – B. A. had thought that the silence had been just too good to last. And sure enough, Murdock asked once more if they were there yet, making B. A. growl again like a junkyard dog and Hannibal turn in his seat to shoot the pilot a look. Murdock shut his mouth on whatever he had wanted to add and closed his eyes again.

"I just don't get it," Face said after a while, snapping Murdock back into reality for the moment. The con man was still puzzled about what this young lady might see in the lanky pilot. Having seen them together, he supposed it had to be something really extraordinary, something the con man couldn't explain. Of course, Face knew the pilot for years, and he knew that Murdock was a good guy – in his own unique way – but nonetheless the con man couldn't understand how this had happened. Watching the pair had reminded the con man of the old-fashioned love story movies always delivering a happy ending. The con man had been quite fond of those movies when he had been younger. During his time in the orphanage, he had hoped to find this at some point of his life, too; someone who would be his and his alone, loving him with all her heart. Deep inside, Face still hoped to find this special somebody Murdock seemed to have found now.

"Getting jealous, Lieutenant?" Hannibal asked, grinning broadly at the youngest team mate in the rear view mirror. Face resented that as if his reputation had been called into question.

"Oh, c'mon now! I can see your eyes turn green, Muchacho!" Murdock teased, grinning from ear to ear. "Loosin' your charm in your old days, Face man?"

"Like hell I am!" the con artist fired back, sounding more enraged than he had intended to – making him realize that he was indeed feeling a little and quite strange wave of jealousy wash over him.

"And you dare to kiss Sweet Darling with that mouth?" the con man asked crossly. The pilot answered by sticking out his tongue and making a sound like a wasp in a closed jar.

"My point exactly!" Face sighed and rolled his eyes. He made a sudden gesture as if to catch Murdock's tongue between thumb and index finger if the pilot would stick it out again. Murdock slapped the con man's fingers, knitting his brows. Face gave a little insulted yelp.

"Can it, fools, both of you! Don't make me reach back!" B. A. suddenly bellowed, making Murdock and Face jump in surprise like kids having been caught red-handed pulling a prank.

"Now, boys, you mind B. A.!" Hannibal warned without turning around. His fatherly tone of voice caused the two youngest team mates to bite their tongues very quickly and turn their attention towards their fingernails and the tips of their shoes. After a few minutes in complete silence, both apologized to Hannibal, B. A. and the entire world before accusing each other of having started the quarrel. When B. A. curled one of his big hands into a fist and shook it at them in the rear view mirror, the con man and the pilot fell silent again and turned their backs on each other with their arms crossed after giving each other a "Now you've done it, man!"-stare. Hannibal looked at the two young men and couldn't help grinning while B. A. just frowned at them and shook his head until the Colonel nudged his shoulder and said, "One big happy family, eh, B. A.?"

The Sergeant's answer was a deep rumble before gripping the steering wheel harder.


	4. Chapter Four:Coming Home

On a warm Thursday evening, Belinda sighed when she crawled underneath the blanket. It had been three days since the pilot and his team mates had been at her place, and she missed him a lot. She put her nose close against the pillow still carrying the scent of Murdock's hair and inhaled deeply.

"Good night, handsome Captain," she whispered into the pillow and smiled, "Wherever you may be now!" When the pair had talked about their jobs one evening, Murdock had mentioned that the team was working as soldiers-for-hire since the war had ended, using their military training to help the helpless ones. So she hoped he really would make it back unharmed; as far as she had understood what he had told her about the missions the team's jobs could get quite dangerous. She hugged the pillow and wished Murdock was with her.

While the team was heading back to Los Angeles as fast as they could, Murdock kept looking out of the window as long as there was enough light to see the world outside. He knew he should keep his mind on business. But all he could think of was taking Belinda in his arms as soon as he'd see her, holding her tight and taking her breathe away with his kisses. All the love inside him had been sleeping for such a long time, waiting for the right person to cross his path. The One, with a capital "O". Someone with whom he could either play-wrestle or enjoy other physical pastimes, stay up late watching cartoons or debating whether Ashkenazy or Stern was better on the violin, and boldly go where no man and woman had gone before – a person he could even tell about his time in Vietnam without feeling uneasy; someone he could cuddle close to when he'd wake up from a nasty dream haunted by war, blood and death. It had happened twice during the few nights he had spent on Belinda's sofa bed. When it had happened the first time, he had considered long and hard whether to go into her bedroom and talk to her, and when he had decided to give in to his fond wish and had sat down on the edge of her bed, he had discovered that Belinda was a good listener. And when she had offered him to bunk with her to find rest again and had patted her bed, her round body had turned out to be very nice to sleep next to as well.

At first, he hadn't felt good to lie down next to her – something that definitely had to be unsuitable although he considered it to be totally innocent to share the pillows without any sexual intentions – but then he had given in to his desire and had lied down on top of the blanket. After spending the night in Belinda's bed, Murdock knew that she was meant for him – the One, with a capital "O" –, but he didn't dare to mention it, fearing that this would burst the bubble. She was pretty in her own way, she was obviously intelligent, and she obviously saw him for the person he was, not just the crazy ex pilot from the Vietnam war.

Since he had met the young woman, the emotion that had been sleeping was wide awake, making his heart turn somersaults by the dozen whenever he thought about her.

As soon as the van approached the street leading to the V. A., Murdock picked up the car phone to tell Belinda he was back. The young woman squealed in delight when she heard his voice.

"And how are you, handsome Captain?" she asked when she had calmed down again.

"All fine," Murdock replied. "Just missin' you, sweet darlin'."

"I miss you, too, handsome Captain. I miss you so bad," Belinda answered softly, making Murdock beam like a 5-year-old kid on Christmas Day before he caught Face's questioning glance and turned away, blushing a little.

"What do ya think about some company tonight, sweet darlin'? I mean, I'm almost home, and I really miss you. So, I'd like to come over," he continued in a low voice and had to struggle very hard to hold back a victory howl when she agreed.

"Okay, guys, I'm gone. See ya," the pilot said after hanging up the phone. Before any of his friends could say something more than a short word of farewell, the pilot slid the side door of the van open with a click and a scrap, grabbed his shoulder bag containing some spare clothes and other items of importance for a mission, hopped off the van and strolled over towards Belinda's house. Hannibal, B. A. and Face watched Murdock embracing and kissing his girlfriend before he bent down to caress her cat for greeting. The cat rubbed against his shin to greet him back, meowed sweetly and went for her nocturnal stroll, the golden eyes and the four white paws the only visible part of the little animal in the dark.

"Look at them, guys. This must be love, can you believe it!" Face commented, making Hannibal and B. A. grin again when Murdock and Belinda disappeared into the house hand in hand. The team members had to admit that she looked rather nice in her sleeveless short white dress with the black spots, resembling a Dalmatian's coat. When the pilot and the young woman went into the house, the dress appeared to dance in the darkness.

Hannibal, Face and B. A. left for their own places, carefully avoiding to draw any attention to themselves.

When Belinda and Murdock had sat down on the couch, the pilot put his hands on her shoulders and closed his eyes for a moment. Slowly, a tender smile spread on his face.

"What is it, handsome Captain?" the young woman wondered.

"Nothin', sweet darlin'. Just comparin' you with the picture of you I have in my mind," Murdock explained. "But you're actually a lot prettier." Belinda smiled at the compliment before pulling him into a hug and kissing him.

After his girlfriend had been to the bathroom for a moment, Murdock found himself unable to stay on the couch with her any more. He longed to lie down with her and feel and touch her from head to toe. He felt as if they had been separated much too long.

"May I take you upstairs, sweet darlin'?" he asked, giving her a look that was tender and hungry all the same and picking her up when she nodded yes. He carried her into the bedroom, put her on top of the bed before he took off his jacket, dropped it on the floor, sat down next to her and kissed her. Belinda wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close to melt into his sweet kisses, his scent, and his presence.

After they had made love for the second time, the pilot kissed Belinda again before he left the bed to go into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came back, carrying a small round box with a lid and a big spoon. He put both on the bedside table and crawled back underneath the blanket. He popped the lid of the box open, put it on the bedside table and ate the first spoonful of the white creamy stuff with spots inside the box before feeding the next spoonful to Belinda. Some of the spots were dark brown, others were reddish, blue, light-green and yellow.

"What's that?" she wondered, licking her lips. It tasted deliciously sweet and cold and a bit crunchy.

"Vanilla ice cream with crumbled chocolate cookies and color sugar sprinkles I hid in the fridge while you were in the bathroom. I thought we could do with a little snack after having something so nice together. I had the idea of bringin' a little bit of sugar along to get the motor started again," the pilot explained while he continued feeding her the ice cream a bite at a time, "The sugar sprinkles were my idea."

"And what a good idea it was," Belinda sighed, licking her lips again. When the little box was empty, both lied down to get some sleep. Murdock put his arms around Belinda and pulled her close. He hadn't felt this good in ages – as close to normal as he had felt before having been in Vietnam. As if her presence could hold the bad things at bay. With that very pleasant thought, he put his cheek against Belinda's temple and headed for the land of nod.

Belinda woke up at six-thirty in the morning to the sensation of Murdock's warm breath against her neck. She opened her eyes, squirmed to free herself from his long arms and went in the bathroom to take a shower and brush her teeth. When she turned away from the sink, she found herself looking at the pilot's hairy chest who had shown up behind her unnoticed.

"Good morning, handsome Captain. Did I wake you up?" she wondered. Murdock nodded.

"Well... Yeah... The bed's so big and empty without you. I was freezin'," he said, hanging his head and rubbing his upper arms to emphasize his "_Woe me_"-expression. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Belinda straightened up on her toes, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and placed a soft kiss onto his slightly opened lips that was answered by him taking a deep breath, wrapping his arms around her and muttering the words "More, please!"

Smiling, the young woman pulled him closer and kissed him again, gently slipping her tongue into his mouth this time, not caring about morning breath whatsoever_._Murdock responded eagerly, almost taking her breath away with his kiss_, _shifting her heartbeat into overdrive again. When their lips parted, the young woman smiled happily at him.

"Thank you for coming back so soon and in one piece, handsome Captain," she managed to say once her pulse rate had slowed down again.

"No, I have to thank you for this wonderful night, sweet darlin'," Murdock said, impersonating Clark Gable, putting his forehead against hers and giving her a tender smile. Belinda was surprised he could imitate the voice good enough to make her feel to be one of the female actors in "Gone with The Wind" and told him so.

"Wanna hear more, your ladyship?" the pilot grinned, stretching his arms over his head, "I can do millions of them." Belinda noticed that her boyfriend had been speaking with the voice of Phil Harris this time, the actor who had given his voice to the alley cat Thomas O'Malley from "Disney's AristoCats", one of Belinda's favorite animated cartoons_._ Smiling at her, Murdock put his hand behind her neck and pulled her close to put his forehead against hers again. He hadn't hit the voice entirely because he hadn't heard it too often but he had been close enough for her to place it. And she was positively surprised that he had remembered it although she had mentioned it only once when they had watched the movie some time ago.


	5. Chapter Five: A Decision

It was early on a late April morning when Murdock woke up to the sensation of Belinda's bare back snuggled warmly against his chest, and feeling her belly against his palm_._ He carefully straightened up on one elbow so he wouldn't wake her up.

The pilot loved this time of the day, these moments between deep night and early dawn when it was easy to focus his brilliant mind. And being rewarded with watching his sleeping girlfriend completed his bliss. No matter what horrible things he had seen in his dream, just one look at Belinda's peaceful face in the morning made it fade away. Even more so as he could enjoy this sight every morning since he had been declared sane two months ago and had been allowed to go wherever he wanted. So he had packed his stuff and had moved into Belinda's place. Belinda had been very happy about this. Of course, there had been a few discussions about their individual habits, just like it usually happened when two people moved in together and had to get used to each other's presence. But, surprisingly enough, there had been no real difficulties, as far as finding satisfying solutions.

Murdock slid his right hand up slowly, letting his fingers come to rest underneath Belinda's bosom so he could feel the warmth he enjoyed so much. Its gentle rise and fall with every tranquil breath, combined with the regular rhythm of her heart, added to his serenity. The early twilight made her smooth skin shine and look a bit darker than usual against the bright color of the cover and pillow. Murdock ran his free hand through her soft, dark brown curls before running his index finger slowly down her back along the spine. Then, he ran his hand up her curvy shape again, from her hip to her shoulder. When the fingertips slid past her armpit and made her twist and giggle a bit, the pilot couldn't help grinning. Since he accidentally had poked her armpits with his thumbs when they had shared their first kiss in the darkness of the hospital park, Murdock had speculated that Belinda was ticklish. Yet, he had just tried it once or twice again since then, although sometimes he had been really curious for several reasons how ticklish she actually was. The pilot enjoyed tickling his girlfriend because he understood it to be harmless and spontaneous fun.

By now Murdock and Belinda were a couple for almost six months and as deeply in love as they had been in the first days. He had gotten used to tell her about his haunted dreams, and Belinda felt honored that he trusted her so much. She felt the closest to him in those moments when he was talking, having put his head on her shoulder or on her arm and his arms around her waist. The pilot cherished these moments since they meant a great deal to him, too. Since he planned to ask for Belinda's hand in marriage soon, he had told her the rough facts about the A-Team, like that Hannibal, Face and B. A. were wanted by the government for a crime they didn't commit and had to be careful not to get caught by the Military Police, just in case she might run into Decker, Lynch or Fullbright – something Murdock hoped it would never happen. He didn't want to imagine what those bastards might do to her if they made the connection. The mere notion made him shiver.

Belinda woke up when she felt his long fingers on top of her belly. They trembled.

"What is it, handsome Captain? Can't sleep?" she wondered, turned around to face him and slipped her arms around him – one arm around his neck, the other arm around his ribcage – to pull him close and kiss his forehead.

"Just an unpleasant dream," Murdock said and shrugged as casually as he could, trying hard not to show too much of his inner uproar, "Happens sometimes, y'know." Belinda nodded and kissed his forehead. Of course she knew about his dreams; she had seen them come to him many times before. Murdock cuddled close to her again, rested his head onto her shoulder, slipped his arm around her waist and closed his eyes. Belinda ran her hand through his hair and over his back, hoping to comfort him. Indeed, the pilot's breathing evened out a few minutes later and he was sleeping safe and sound again. Contently, Belinda closed her eyes and fell asleep herself to get some more energy for the day.


	6. Chapter Six: Questions

Unlocking the door after a long and nerve-wrecking day, Belinda noticed a huge white heart painted on a red piece of paper attached to the kitchen door. The letters B. J. and H. M., her and his first and middle initials, were written on the heart with black water color. A bit puzzled, she stepped closer and noticed the words "Howlin' Mad" in finer black letters in the down-hand left corner of the paper. She couldn't help laughing quietly.

"So nice," she said, lightly drumming her fingers against the kitchen door.

"Well, it's a piece of art, and an artist has to sign it, hasn't he?" Murdock answered from inside.

"You're absolutely right," Belinda said, smiling when he opened the door and stepped up to hug and kiss her. Belinda put her cheek against Murdock's shirt and enjoyed feeling the soft cotton fabric against her skin.

"Dinner is prepared," he said as he took her hand and lead her into the kitchen, pushing the door open with his free hand.

She looked past him at the table set for two and blinked in surprise when the delicious scent of a baked pasta dish hit her nostrils. A dark red rose was standing in the middle of the table in a wine bottle filled with water, flanked by two white candles propped into two small drinking glasses that were twinkling in the warm candle-light.

"What's the occasion?" she wondered. She had come to like his delicious sandwiches during the two months he was living in her house now, but this was the first time he'd prepared a hot meal. Although he had gotten used to give her a helping hand with the dishes and also with the laundry, he left most of the kitchen stuff to her.

"Well, I just thought it would be nice if you came home anddidn'thave to cook. Gotta surprise for you. But could you wait a moment, sweet darlin'? It's not a polite thing to interrupt an artist at work." He arched an eyebrow at her before giving her a wink and broad grin that lit up his face entirely.

Belinda nodded and waited in front of the door until he called her in. She watched him taking the baked spaghetti dish, with tomato sauce, meatballs and cheese out of the oven, placing it on the table and putting a helping onto her plate before taking a second helping on his own. She speared a meat ball to taste a small bite and said, "This is yummy, handsome Captain. I bet an Italian restaurant couldn't do better." Even if she knew about his cooking abilities by now, she mentioned them frequently as she just didn't want to take them for granted. Besides, she wasn't used to a man cooking for her. In every former relationship she had had, she had been the one preparing food.

"Thanks, sweet darlin'." Murdock grinned, putting a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth, sucking them in and licking his lips. He was really glad she liked the dish as this was indeed a special occasion to him. With Face's help, he had just gotten hired for a job as a pilot in a small cargo company in addition to flying A-Team missions, to make money on a more regular basis. So tonight he wanted to ask Belinda for her hand in marriage. Hopeless romantic that he was, he had given this occasion a lot of thought to make it just right. One reason why he had been thinking about it so hard had been the little and very nasty voice somewhere in the back of his head that had kept asking why Belinda should accept his proposal at all – why such a kind and pretty young woman should marry a basket case like him. And Murdock had felt his heart sink into his boots when he had realized that he couldn't make the voice stop teasing. Nothing could change what he had been through in his life, what he had seen and done and what had been done to him so often until it had screwed up his brain.

Belinda took the next bite of the delicious dish before looking into his eyes and smiling at him while he told her about the new job and emptied his plate. Belinda looked at him in light shock. Remembering the moments when he had told her about the A-Team's missions, she couldn't picture him doing an average job. Even if he had mentioned that he had done regular jobs before, besides the team's missions, like working as a waiter in restaurants or as a dog walker or as a Boy Scout group leader. But she just couldn't imagine him doing that. He just didn't strike her as an average working guy. It seemed to her as if such a thing would make him suffer sooner or later like a plant with too little water.

"You don't have to do that on my account," she said softly, looking into his eyes. "Don't do anything you don't want to. Just to please me, I mean."

"And who said I don't wanna do it?" the pilot asked, knitting his brows and crossing his arms. "I mean, the Colonel is working as an actor when there's no mission for us, and the big guy has his youth center job with the kids. Not to mention the scams Face does – if you can call them a job. So, it is possible to do both, ya see. And I really wanna give you a good life, sweet darlin', in every way I can." He took a deep breath before he got down on one knee in front of her chair, winced when he heard his knees crack, and pulled a small dark blue box from his pocket. Belinda blinked in astonishment when he opened the box to show her a delicate silver ring with a crystal clear round radiant cut diamond of .05 Carat and two small round sapphires of .02 carat, one on either side of the diamond.

Fortunately, it hadn't been a problem to find the right size because Belinda's ring finger and his pinkie had the same size. Since he had started thinking about proposing, he had spent a lot of morning hours holding his hand against hers, comparing them.

"Belinda Janet Miller, would you do me the honor to give me your lovely hand in marriage and become Mrs. Hunter Matthew Murdock?" the pilot asked, his voice a bit hoarse with excitement. He cleared his throat, took her left hand into his and locked his eyes with hers.

"Would you marry me, Bessie, my sweet darlin'?" he repeated his question in plainer words and caressed her hand. When Belinda recovered from being rendered speechless, she smiled, cupped his chin with her free hand and caressed his cheek with her thumb.

"Yes, I will, Hunter Matthew Murdock," she said, her eyes filling with tears of joy. "It will be an honor for me to be your wife, my handsome Captain." Carefully, the pilot put the ring on Belinda's finger and kissed her lips. Belinda wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned into the kiss of her brand-new fiancé.

Murdock was relieved and cheerful that Belinda had accepted his marriage proposal. Still down on his knee, the pilot rested his head on her lap, putting his arms around her hips and giving an overjoyed sigh. His knees started aching a bit but he didn't care at all – he was far too euphoric to feel the twinge of pain. When Belinda caressed his neck, Murdock closed his eyes and enjoyed the tender touch of her slim fingers wearing the silver ring now Murdock had chosen with B. A.'s expert help a month ago. The pilot had been looking at it numerous times a day since then while he had been thinking about the right words. He had wanted the proposal to be perfect.

"You… what?" Face stared at Murdock who had dropped by on the next day for a short visit at the con man's apartment, at the same time as Hannibal. The Lieutenant's bright blue eyes were as wide open as his jaw while the Colonel remained as calm as ever.

"I asked her to marry me," the pilot repeated, a very happy grin spreading slowly on his face while he was pulling Face into a crushing hug, "And my sweet darlin' said yes! Imagine that, Faceman, she's gonna wear my ring; she's gonna be my wife, the mother of my children! And I'd be glad if you'd be my best man!" The con man gulped back his doubts before he asked, "And when shall this happen?"

"That's up to the organization, I guess," Hannibal said. The Colonel turned to face Murdock, held a hand out to the pilot and added, "Well, Cap'n, what do you think about a real nice wedding ceremony, as a present from Face and me? Face can take care of organizing the paperwork and stuff, and I'll pay for the party arrangements. And I think I can make B. A. take care of an adequate transport."

Face looked at Hannibal as if to ask, "Oh, yeah? And when exactly did I agree to this plan?" But the con man held his tongue as he knew that Hannibal was confident in his Lieutenant's scamming abilities that had been proved over and over in the past. And before Face could say anything at all, Murdock beamed at the Colonel and shook his hand right smart.

"Thank ya, guys, thank ya. We don't have a wedding date yet but it would be really nice to get married in springtime with the blooming flowers and trees and all. But first things first; Belinda and I are gonna visit her family in Ohio for a week or two," the pilot answered Face's question and looked at his friend. "There's a party there to celebrate her mother's new job and I'm gonna be her plus one, she said." Murdock turned again to meet Hannibal's faded blue Bombardier's eyes.

"Doesn't sound that bad," the Colonel thought aloud. "My movie business is put on hold for a while, and Ohio really could be far enough to be out of reach of Lynch, Decker or Fullbright so you'd be out of all trouble for a while. And I'm sure Face can keep an eye on Belinda's house and the cat." The con man shot Hannibal a look but didn't reply as Murdock nodded affirmatively, obviously already thinking about the right words to tell the news to Belinda.

When Belinda and Murdock had lied down after dinner, the pilot had decided what to say.

"Can't sleep, handsome Captain?" Belinda wondered around midnight when she heard him sigh and felt him toss and turn for the third time within a few minutes. She caressed his cheek and ran her hand though his hair.

"I'm okay, sweet darlin'. Just thinkin'," the pilot said, placing a soothing kiss on the corner of her mouth and smiling.

"About what?" Belinda asked curiously. It always surprised her what was going on in Murdock's unpredictable mind. In one minute he could be like an unleashed dog taking her breath away with his kisses, and in the next minute he could be as shy as a nervous virgin, hardly daring to hold her hand without asking for permission. She had discovered very soon that Murdock was a rule unto himself. And to her opinion, that was his best feature – he wasn't like any other guy. He was more like a square peg in a world full of round-hole guys. She had learned that there were very few things the pilot didn't see since he was able to look behind facades. And she had learned very soon that it was easiest to simply go along with what he wanted when he was getting ideas.

"You," the pilot said, pulling her close and smiling against her forehead, "That you're a wonderful woman, sweet darlin'. That I'm looking forward to get married to you. And I've been thinkin' about how much I love you." He closed his eyes for a moment since he was always a little nervous every time he said those three powerful words, scared of how Belinda would reply, despite the numerous times they had exchanged the sentiment since they had met.

"I love you, too, handsome Captain," Belinda said, "Now you better get some sleep – and that's an order." She shifted into a better position to wink at him and kiss his cheek. Murdock nodded before he wrapped both arms around his girlfriend and pulled her into a passionate hug so their noses and lips touched simultaneously for a moment.

"Yes, Ma'am!" he whispered, tapping his forehead with his index finger to suggest a military greeting and trying to keep a straight face. But he couldn't help grinning. He snuggled close and rested his cheek against her temple. Belinda put an arm around his waist and hugged him back.

"There's a good boy," she smiled, referring to the moment after the Movie Night when he had barked to scare off the burglar, as well as an afternoon Murdock had spent in the tub to relax, a bag of grape lollipops lying on a tub table in front of him and the first one sitting in the corner of his mouth while he had enjoyed sucking on the small grape candy ball and rolling it around his mouth, listening to some rock music. Tabby, pacing the edge of the tub, had meowed and hissed at him to make him get out of the tub because she wanted to sit in the tub and drink the drops falling from the water-tap. Belinda had entered the bathroom when Murdock had barked and growled back at the cat to demonstrate he wouldn't. Tabby had answered with another furious hiss and a light slap against his shoulder.

Now, Murdock looked at Belinda in surprise before he made a little whining sound – like a puppy calling for its mother. Belinda pulled him close so he could rest his head on her bosom and caressed his back as if she would really ruffle a dog's fur, making the pilot grin. He was glad she could react to his behavior so easy and even seemed to enjoy it as much as he did; that they could have so much fun together.

The early morning sun was shining into the room when the couple finally fell asleep. Belinda looked out of the window when she felt sleep leaving her body again. At first, she wasn't sure if they had slept at all. It wouldn't be the first time that the pilot would keep her busy all night, letting his fingers and his mouth wander all over her body, nibbling at her ankles or running the tips of his fingers along her spine, from her neck to her buns. But the bright blue sky outside suggested that it was definitely daytime. She turned onto her back and sat up to look at Murdock who had cuddled close against her, his arm still around her waist. As she had turned, his fingers were resting on her hip now. Slowly, she bent down and kissed his slightly open lips. Murdock responded by running his hand up to her neck in a wink and holding her close to push into the kiss.

"Good mornin', sweet darlin'," he whispered when they parted for air before diving into another kiss. "You taste lovely this mornin'." She had eaten some pieces of her favorite chocolate before brushing her teeth last night, and the mixture of dark chocolate and the toothpaste's mint was interesting to the pilot.

"Thank you. Likewise, my handsome Captain," Belinda smiled since Murdock had eaten some candy before preparing for bed, too. "Say, have you decided yet about the trip?" she suddenly wondered. "I think it's time to introduce my handsome husband-to-be to my mother, my brother and his wife and my sister and her family." She snuggled back into his long arms, her back against his chest, looking at her ring.

"And I'm happy to come with you, sweet darlin'. Hope you don't mind if Face stays here to keep an eye on the house and on Tabby while we're away," Murdock answered, pulling her close to kiss the soft, fleshy crook of her neck. He nibbled softly at the spot where her shoulder met her neck and inhaled her sweet vanilla perfume, mixed up with the caramel-like scent of her skin. This scent was one of the reasons why he called her "sweet darling".

"No, why should I mind him staying here? This way, Tabby won't have to cope with the trip. Little Missus doesn't like to travel by car, by train or especially by bus – when I do that to her she doesn't talk to me for three days at least. And I think she likes Face," Belinda said after a few minutes, taking his right hand and kissing the palm and the inside of the wrist before resting her head on his biceps again. The pilot scooted closer to his fiancée's body form and closed his eyes as he slid his arms around her waist like two pythons and pulled her as close as he could. Being in bed with Belinda was an act of beauty to Murdock, no matter if they were play-wrestling, having sex or just spending time talking and sharing tenderness. It was something sacred, an expression of pure love and a pleasure he wished never to end. So he enjoyed the weekends the most when Belinda didn't have to rush to work and they could stay in bed all day if they wanted to. Suddenly, the pilot jerked awake again when he remembered the phone call he had promised the team leader.

"Gotta go for a minute, sweet darlin'. Gotta make a phone call," he said into Belinda's ear and went into the kitchen to call Hannibal.

"Give our best to the guys," Belinda called after him. Murdock smiled while he wandered downstairs.

"'S okay, Colonel," the pilot said when he heard Hannibal's voice on the line. "And Belinda said she won't mind if Face stays here while we're away."

"Okay, Cap'n. See you in two weeks then and have a good time up there," the team leader replied.

"See ya. Belinda said to give Face and B. A. our best," Murdock answered, sighed in relief and hung up before returning to bed.

"Well? How's Hannibal doing?" Belinda asked, smiling at him when he crawled back underneath the blanket and put his arm around her waist.

"Okay. Colonel ain't the guy for sorrow, y'know," the pilot explained and snuggled close to his fiancée's body to wrap both arms around her again. Belinda turned around to face him and touched the tip of his nose with hers, making him smile.

The week passed in a rush. If Face hadn't shown up on Thursday to stash some of his clothes and to check if everything was alright, Belinda almost would have forgotten about the trip. Part of her would have done that on purpose. She hadn't seen her kin in a while and the relationship wasn't too steady. So she wasn't sure how they would react to the news she had announced when she had called her sister a few days ago to confirm her attendance plus one. She had always been nervous when one of her boyfriends had been meeting her mother to stand in front her eye. But then again, her mother was able to know a good person when she saw one, and madman or not, Belinda had learned soon enough that Murdock was a real good man, capricious but very lovable all the same.

On Thursday evening, when the couple was baking pancakes with bacon bits, chopped tomatoes, and chopped mushrooms and a green salad on the side for dinner and Murdock noticed Belinda's insecurity, he pulled her into a reassuring hug and said, "Don't you worry, sweet darlin'. Everything will be fine. I mean, I'll be the perfect gentleman, and Face will take good care of the house and of Tabby. Promise." He rested his chin on Belinda's head and ran his fingers through her hair when he felt her smile against his t-shirt. Giving her comfort made him feel better at once, too. Come to think of it, he was nervous about the meeting, too.

"And believe it or not, Murdock is good to his word when it comes to manners," Face interrupted. The con man had dropped in during the afternoon. Now he sat at the kitchen table, having Tabby sitting on his lap and scratching her ears while Murdock and Belinda were preparing dinner.

"You don't say," Belinda commented, speaking against Murdock's chest. The pilot looked at the pancake, grabbed the handle of the pan and took it off the hot burner before he ran his hand soothingly through Belinda's hair and over her back again. Face put the cat onto the seat next to him and came to the cooking stove to save the last pancake just in time. Inexpertly, he flipped it over, baked the other side and put it on the serving dish on the kitchen counter. When the con man returned to his seat, Tabby meowed and slapped his thigh since she was offended about having been put aside.

"Well then, let's eat, guys," Belinda said, putting the serving dish full of pancakes on the table. She put the first one on Tabby's little plate and cut it to smaller bits for her.

"Is she going to eat with us?" Face was amazed when Tabby put her front paws on the table on either side of the little plate.

"Yep, she is," Belinda explained, putting the little cup full of water next to the plate. "We have shared our meals since she was a kitten. That's why she has her own tableware." Tabby meowed and winked at the two men before she started drinking the water and eating the pancake, carefully picking out the bacon bits first.

"Gee, you really love that little feline lady, don't you, Belinda?" Face wondered, caressing Tabby's back.

"Both of us do," Murdock said, resting his chin on his fist and smiling at his fiancée.

"You see, Face, my handsome Captain and I wouldn't have met if it hadn't been for Little Missus here," Belinda added, taking Murdock's hand and entwining her fingers with his. Again, Face was unable to hide a grin when he heard the nicknames. In his mind, he was already listing up his tasks for planning the wedding of his best friend. Among other things, he decided what to wear. On the one hand, he wanted Murdock to look his best at his wedding day. On the other hand, the con man didn't wanted to look bad himself, either.

_But no way_, Face told himself,_ Can't let __the __groomsman look better than the groom!_

Easier said than done for a man owning so many elegant suits as Templeton "Faceman" Peck.


	7. Chapter Seven: Memorable Meetings

Helen Emmett, a dark blond woman in her late fifties, hugged Belinda lovingly before switching her gaze towards the tall brown-haired man holding her eldest daughter's hand.

"Mother, meet Captain Hunter Matthew Murdock, my fiancé," Belinda said, fidgeting with the v-neck of her long dress in bright sunset colors with a few grayish speckles along the hem she was wearing with a pair of short-heeled black sandals today.

"So," Belinda's mother said pragmatically. "You wanna marry my daughter, Captain Murdock?" The inquiring gaze from the blue eyes made the pilot gulp.

"Yes, Ma'am. It would be an honor for me to have your daughter as my wife. I would have talked to her father but as you're the head of the family, I ask you for Belinda's hand in marriage," Murdock replied, caressing Belinda's hand and arm to soothe her as he felt her insecurity, too. "I love her deeply. She's the most wonderful woman I know. And I will always take good care of her."

"Belinda told me you have been in Vietnam," Helen continued, making Murdock close his eyes for a moment, "So, what was your job over there?" This had been one of the questions Murdock had been scared of. He drew a deep breath, trying to think of a good answer. But his grandmother hadn't raised a coward, so he decided to tell her about his missions as a chopper pilot, lifting wounded soldiers out of the fighting area to take them to the next M*A*S*H* unit and back again.

"Sounds like a tough job," Helen remarked. "What do you do for a living now, Captain Murdock?"

"I'm, um, in customer service," Murdock said. "And as a part time job I fly planes for a small cargo company, to make some extra money."

"What kind of customer service?" Helen inquired.

"My friends and I help the helpless ones," the pilot explained. "We travel all over the states and beyond to help wherever we're needed. As a kind of modern knights, if I may say so."

"Nothing compared to your military duties, I guess?" Helen raised her eyebrows.

"Not really, but it makes rather good money, Ma'am. Truth be told I'm able to give your daughter a good life," Murdock said, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. The look from the blue eyes was growing warmhearted when Helen looked him over once again. She held his gaze for a moment, and the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile. She extended her hand to shake his and then pulled the tall pilot into an unexpected hug that made him almost loose balance.

"I'm glad to give you my blessing, Captain Murdock," she said after letting go of him and looking into his eyes again. "Make my first girl a happy woman."

"Thank you, Ma'am! I will!" Murdock smiled with happiness. He felt his heart turn an overjoyed somersault. When her mother had given her daughter another hug and had gone to greet other guests, he cupped Belinda's face with both hands and kissed her.

"You've done great, handsome Captain. I know, my mother can be like a bloodhound if she suspects something fishy but I'm sure she likes you. And she's glad you're gonna be kin," Belinda said when their lips parted. She was quite relieved her mother hadn't asked if she was expecting a baby. But then again, she would have been more surprised if she had since her mother had never been thinking that way – at least not to her knowledge.

"What makes you so sure?" Murdock wondered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"The way she looked into your eyes. She knows a good person when she sees one, and madman or not, my handsome Captain, you're the best man I know," Belinda said when the pilot took her to a seat. He went to get them a drink and returned with two small glass bottles of ice-cold Coca-Cola.

"Well, I'd say seeing good persons must run in the family then," Murdock remarked before handing her one of the bottles and clicking his bottle against hers.

"Here's to us, sweet darlin'," he said.

"To us, handsome Captain," Belinda replied, smiling at him and taking his hand. A few minutes later, Belinda's mother came back to them, accompanied by Belinda's sisters Isobel and Denise, two younger versions of Belinda with straightened hair down to their shoulders and her brother Marlon, a robust young man with so light-brown skin it looked almost white with freckles. The little group was chatting loudly.

"Listen, everybody!" Helen said loud enough for all guests to hear, "This day isn't just a celebration for my new job as a youth attorney but also for the engagement of my eldest daughter, Belinda Janet." She kissed Belinda's forehead.

"I'm so glad you found yourself a good man," she said quietly.

"Thank you, Mom. I'm glad, too," Belinda whispered, hugging her mother with one arm and reaching out for Murdock's hand at the same time.

The pilot frowned a bit when another young woman came towards the little group and tugged at the young man's sleeve. She was a chunky white woman in her twenties with long brunette curls and calm dark blue eyes behind a pair of frail glasses, carrying a baby girl in a bright pink dress on her arm. Strangely enough, the baby girl had reddish blond hair and bright blue eyes, resembling the ones sitting in Helen's face.

"Marlon, where's Jason?" the woman asked, sounding a bit hot under the collar. "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on our son while I'm taking care of our daughter?" Belinda's brother turned towards the new arrival, gave her a bright smile and shrugged.

"Hi, Bella," Belinda said, striking the baby girl's head, "How is my favorite sister-in-law?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Bella answered, giving her husband's sister and the tall brown-haired man at Belinda's side a kind yet distracted smile and handing the baby to her sister-in-law so she could straighten out her dark blue dress with white stripes along the hem and collar. "And I would be even better if I could find my special little guy."

"If that's the little kid with the tanned skin in the red t-shirt and the jeans, I've seen him over there playin', Ma'am," Murdock said. He got up and unfolded one of his long arms to point towards the spot where he had seen the little boys sit and play. The young woman cranked her neck to see and nodded contently. She took her baby from Belinda's arms, took Marlon's hand, and both went over to their son and his cousins.

"My brother's wife. Her name's Belinda, too but her friends call her Bella," Belinda explained, "One of the best cooks I ever met. She made the potato salad and the apple pie."

"Ah! Let her know both was really yummy," Murdock remarked, embracing his fiancée from behind and kissing her cheek, "By the way, do you know that you're lookin' gorgeous with the baby in your arm?"

"I heard it once or twice before, yes. But nobody ever said it in such a nice way." The pilot's fiancée smiled. She still felt too young to be a mother – but on the other hand, she remembered she was doing better than expected when she got to babysit her brother's daughter Linda. She hadn't done it in a while but she remembered those moments fondly and somehow very proud of herself.

During the first week of the vacation, Murdock found himself pondering about the wedding plans on Friday morning. He wondered a bit if Face would be able to handle everything. He had never attended a wedding as an official guest but he remembered having read once it was a lot of work attached to two people getting married. Secretly, he wished the wedding ceremony to be done during the holiday in Ohio. Coincidently, tomorrow was the date when Murdock and Belinda had been at the V. A.'s Movie Night and had shared their first kiss one year ago. The thought made the pilot grin from ear to ear. That was really an entertaining narration to tell.

Murdock sighed and turned around to look at Belinda in the early morning light. He wanted to marry her as soon as possible, and for a moment he wondered once more if Face would be able to organize the wedding ceremony in time. But then again, the con man had been able to get his hands on a classic car in the middle of the jungle of Vietnam. The pilot had seen more than once that Face was a wizzard when it came to making somebody do something. So Murdock couldn't see why the blonde Lieutenant should fail in organizing a wedding ceremony.


	8. Chapter Eight: A delightful day

The little chapel belonging to a small motel close to a Northern California coastal town was lit by nothing but lots and lots of candles sitting all over the church. The beautiful sight made Murdock sigh. He tried to count the little flames and had failed for the third time when the house of God fell completely silent as the people turned to see Belinda walk down the aisle, looking adorable in a long white silk dress with a wide petticoat skirt, short sleeves and a low-cut neck. A long thin veil and high-heeled sandals made of white silk completed the outfit, together with a pair of fingerless long gloves, made of white silk as well. She had put her hand on the arm of Bella, her sister-in-law and matron-of-honor, dressed in a bright purple silk dress falling down to her ankles. Belinda's best friend Beverly Kramer, Belinda's mother and the bride's younger sisters Isobel and Denise followed them in slow steps, dressed in the same purple silk dresses. Belinda held an arrangement of white and purplish flowers in the other hand and looked at her fiancé in the black tuxedo with the white shirt, the dark purple waistband and the bow tie of the same color. His features were softened by the candle light, just like the flickering light of the movie on their first date had softened them. Belinda couldn't help but notice how good he looked and how much she loved him. She couldn't remember when she had loved a man that much before. When she was standing next to him, they took each other's hand and smiled at each other.

"Captain H. M. Murdock, do you take Miss Belinda Janet Miller to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, respect and honor her as your wife throughout your years together, till death do you part?" the reverend asked.

"I, Captain H. M. Murdock, take you, Belinda Janet Miller, to be my wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward," the pilot replied, his voice a bit hoarse with the excitement. "In the presence of God, our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live." He cleared his throat, looked into Belinda's eyes and caressed her hands lovingly before he turned towards Face who was standing one step behind him, took the ring from the little purple velvet pillow in the con man's hand and put it carefully on Belinda's slightly trembling ring finger.

"And you, Miss Belinda Janet Miller, do you take Captain H. M. Murdock to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise to love, respect and honor him as your husband throughout your years together, till death do you part?" The reverend looked at Belinda who still looked into the pilot's eyes.

"I, Belinda Janet Miller, take you, Captain H. M. Murdock, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward till death do us part. With this ring, I ask you to be mine," she responded, smiling at the pilot and taking the second ring from the little pillow to place it on Murdock's ring finger.

"You may now kiss the bride," the reverend said to Murdock who didn't hesitate to lift the veil and wrap his arms around his wife. He pulled her close and kissed her eagerly. Belinda waited a few minutes before she took a deep breath and smiled at Murdock. Hannibal and Face exchanged a glance. The pilot's energy and enthusiasm oozing from every pore made them smile to themselves. The con man had had his doubts if he could arrange the wedding ceremony in time but all had worked just fine, just as Hannibal had said it would.

It had been a very good feeling to leave the big city behind, especially for such a good reason. And the Military Police seemed to have better things to do than trying to catch them. Of course, they had avoided to cross any police officer's way as good as possible, just to make sure and not to ruin Murdock's big day. Hannibal raised an eyebrow at Face as if to ask, "Well, didn't I tell you you'd make it, Lieutenant?" Having seen the question in Hannibal's faded blue Bombardier's eyes, Face nodded slightly to confirm. The con man took a deep breath and smiled at the overjoyed expression on the pilot's face when his friend cupped Belinda's face with both hands and put his forehead and nose against hers.

When the group had gone to the motel to celebrate, Face pulled an envelope from the inner pocket of his jacket and gave it to Murdock. The pilot ripped it open and flipped it over. A greeting card and two photos fell out. The pilot gasped for air when he saw that one photo was showing a small blue hydroplane and the card had an image of Europe on it. The other photo showed a dark purple 1958 Ford Plymouth that looked almost new. The purple color appeared just about to be black. Murdock opened the card and held it with slightly trembling fingers.

"_Heh, Murdock," _the card said in Face's graceful handwriting, _"I thought it would be nice for you and your wife to see a bit of the world. So I__ took the liberty to organize __the plane for you so you can take your wife to a place she hasn't been to yet. I guess a European city might be a nice place to visit for honeymoon, don't you think? __Remember when we were in Italy and in Spain? It was quite nice__ over there__, wasn't it? __I'm sure __your pretty wife will like it over there__, too__, and I bet __you'll have a very good time. Don't you worry about the house and the cat – I'll look after it again. And as the plane and the car are all yours, you can go back to Los Angeles when you're ready to – the car's waiting in the parking lot so you and your pretty wife can take your time. Don't you worry, the car is in__ mint __condition – B. A. checked it twice and you know what that means.__ Take __it as a honeymoon present from all of us. Let me know if I can be of service. Face"_

The pilot pulled Face into a crushing hug before showing the card and the photos to Belinda. The young woman clapped her hands in delight when she had read the card herself. She had always wanted to see Europe since she had done an educational activity years ago to become a multilingual secretary and thus had learned French, Spanish and Italian. As she hadn't finished her education, she hadn't used the languages much since then but she was still able to remember the basics, like ordering a meal in a restaurant or asking for an address.

"So, where do you wanna go?" the pilot asked, taking his wife's hand, looking into her eyesand leading her on the dance floor when the DJ had had turned on "Something stupid", the song the couple considered to be "their song" since the pilot had quoted it in his letter and Belinda liked it much, too. And today, on their big day, Murdock wanted to dance with Belinda to this song. She smiled but didn't answer his question.

"Tell me!" he ordered softly, holding her close. Belinda shook her head ever so slightly before she slid her arms around his waistand put her cheek against his chest.

"C'mon now, gimme a hint at least," he started begging. Belinda straightened up on her toes to caress his cheek. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him before he could add the whining sound to his expression.

"No hints, sorry, handsome Captain. I'll tell you later," she promised and winked at him, "When we're on our own."

"Only 'cuz you're insistin', sweet darlin'," the pilot smiled and cupped her face to return the kiss. A few hours later, when the celebration had come to an end, the newlyweds arrived at their hotel room with a wonderful view across the small town close to the motel. Lying on the bed, they could see the sunrise. Murdock picked up his wife on both arms and fumbled with the doorknob to push the door open with his knee. He carried his wife inside and put her down onto the double-bed. Face had gotten very comfortable rooms for the team mates and the other guests like Belinda's family and her best friend who had caught the bride bouquet. They would stay with the newlyweds for a few days of leisure time.

Belinda watched her husband taking off his jacket, loosening his bow tie and his waistband and unbuttoning his shirt before she quietly said, "Before you're getting undressed, Mr. Murdock, I'll have to inform you that you're not alone." She laughed quietly when he turned around and gave her a puzzled look. Then, a grin spread slowly on his face. He sat down onto the bed next to her, took her in his arms, and kissed her.

"Why, thank you, Mrs. Murdock. So nice of you to remind me," he answered, before he began to search for the zipper on the back of her dress and slide it open while tracing little kisses along her jaw, her throat and her collar bone towards her shoulder and down her arm towards her armbend. His mouth crept up again to meet her lips while he helped her to shed the dress and the white lace corset with front hooks, a pair of white panties and a garter belt with white stockings. When she started to undo his belt, he straightened himself up on one elbow, rested his cheek on his hand and gave her a tender grin before he began to massage her bosom, softly teasing the nipple with his thumb before he bent down to kiss the soft flesh and to run the tip of his tongue over the nipple. Silently and slowly, they undressed one another, cherishing every touch and sharing lots of romantic glances. He felt as if this was their first night together, and the way she kissed him, Belinda seemed to feel the same way. Considering that they were married now, to her it somehow was their first night together. Romantic as she was, she always had wished to find true love as seen in the movies or heard in songs, and with the presence of the lanky pilot, this dream had come along at last. After the couple had made love two times, Belinda and her husband spent the rest of the night holding each other close until they saw the night's black sky change into indigo and a soft shade of pink before the reddish break of day slowly wiped off the night and made the moon and stars fade.

"Well? Where do you wanna go?" Murdock asked, taking Belinda's hand to look at the golden ring with the delicate square diamond. He let out a deep sigh.

"What's wrong, handsome Captain?" Belinda turned around in his long arms to face him. She caressed his cheek and answered his question, "I'd like to visit France, Italy and Spain."

"It's just kinda hard to believe that you're my wife now, sweet darlin'," Murdock said and laughed softly while looking deep into her eyes. "Wouldn't have expected a pretty and kind-hearted gal like you to fall in love with a basket case like me. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this isn't a dream; that you're really wearin' my ring now."

"Hey," Belinda said and caressed his cheek, "Do you really think I'd have gone out with you or married you if you were worthless or something? Yes, you may be crazy but you're the best man I know, too. You see, I call you_ handsome Captain _for a reason. And that means much more than your loveable chocolate-brown eyes or your mellow voice when you tell me something. Or the wonderful way you smile." A few minutes passed before Murdock answered, "Guess you wouldn't have. I mean, you're a woman of good taste."

"Then why you're putting yourself down?"

"It's a kind of habit, I think," Murdock explained with a rueful shrug. "Ya see, I mostly loose against Face when it comes to the ladies. Usually everyone goes nuts over him, especially if it's got long legs in heels."

"Did you expect me to, too?" Belinda wondered.

"At first, I did," Murdock admitted, "Ya see, Face just has a way with the ladies that's hard to resist for most of them." He shifted into another position to pull her close.

"And boy, I was glad when you didn't," he continued before he kissed her and lied down to close his heavy eyelids. Belinda stayed awake a few minutes longer, looking at him and listening to his breathing.

The next afternoon, the team mates said good-bye to the newlyweds and returned to Los Angeles. The pilot had suggested to stay for the rest of the week to enjoy the peace and quiet of the coastal town. To Belinda, the idea had sounded wonderful. Even more so since Face had promised to keep an eye on the house and Tabby, together with Hannibal this time.

The team mates told the newlyweds to meet them and Amy Allen, a befriended newswoman, in a Chinese restaurant called "The Golden Pagoda". It was partly owned by the A-Team since they had helped the family running the restaurant to get into business. Hannibal had decided to have a second celebration of the wedding among the inner circle. Tania Baker, another friend of the team, was unable to attend but she had asked Amy to give her best to the newlyweds. Before the group entered the restaurant to be seated, Face took Murdock to the Los Angeles harbor to show him the hydroplane resting serenely against the pilings. The pilot's face lit up entirely, and the blonde con man sighed contently. He had had to do some quick talking in order to get the plane, and it had been a steal, literally. But all the effort had been worth just for the look on the pilot's face.

"All yours," Face said, rocking on his heels, feeling a slight heat warm his cheeks. Murdock's mouth had dropped, and for the first time in a long time, the pilot was speechless. He was staring at his best friend and was doing a pretty accurate imitation of a guppy.

"M…m…mine?" he finally managed to squeak. Of course, he had heard what Face had said about the plane but it had been a bit hard to believe, just like the fact that Belinda was his wife now.

Face just nodded and let the taller man pull him into one of his crushing hugs.

"Thanks, Face. Thanks for everything. I... I really mean it," Murdock said, stepping back from his best friend, but keeping his hands on the con man's shoulders as he looked into Face's eyes. The pilot's brown eyes were as clear as they had been during the wedding ceremony. Face remembered several other occasions when the pilot had acted as normal as anyone could ever truly be. Of course, Murdock could be considered eccentric but there had been moments when the con man had found himself wondering if Murdock was truly insane or only exceptionally good at pretending he was.

"I know you do, Murdock, I know," the con man said. "Now, go back to your pretty wife before she'll miss you too bad!" The tall pilot smacked his head through his cap and nodded before the men headed for the restaurant.


	9. Chapter nine: Happy Honeymoon

It was a month and a half later, at the end of June, in the city of Barcelona, Spain. After Mr. and Mrs. Murdock had spent a few weeks in a small and very romantic coastal town in the South of France, they had traveled on to a small town in Northern Italy, on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The hydroplane had made it possible to reach the places quick and without much trouble.

Unlocking the door of the little penthouse apartment Face had gotten for the couple at the harbor of Barcelona, Belinda heard the voice of her husband singing at the top of his lungs. His tenor voice wasn't really trained but obviously that didn't keep him from granting a serenade to the flat and the harbor of Barcelona. What he lacked in exercise, he coped with his enthusiasm that never seemed to retire. At first, she couldn't identify the tune as his voice was missing some notes and skipping some other ones but then she recognized it as the opera song she had heard him singing during the flight. Smiling and remembering her husband's enthusiastic howl when he had taken to the sky, Belinda lightly drummed her fingers against the kitchen door. The singing stopped when the pilot pushed the door open to take her hand, pull her into an emotional hug and kiss her.

"Welcome home," he said, "Dinner is prepared, sweet darlin', so have a seat and enjoy." Belinda smiled when she saw that the table was set for two and the familiar smell of a baked tomato-and-meatball-dish hit her nostrils. To her surprise, the dish tasted a bit different this time, not only because it was made with rice instead of noodles but also because of a good and spicy taste sensation she couldn't place.

"It's tasting different," she said when they had emptied their plates, "Yummy, but a bit different from last time." Murdock stared at her for a moment with his mouth hanging open. Then he got up and slowly advanced on her, wiggling his spread fingers.

"Are you implying something, Mrs. Murdock?" the pilot asked with a mischievous grin. The title still sounded a bit odd to his ears. So, he preferred to call Belinda "Mrs. Murdock" only in case of a slight disagreement. However, he didn't really mind her little remark this time as he could do with a little fun and play. It had taken longer than expected to find the perfect mixture of ingredients to improve the dish to his own satisfaction, like roasted breadcrumbs and chopped bacon added to the meatballs, like powdered pimento,fresh herbs, dried tomatoes and a dash of barbecue sauce added to the tomato sauce, and a different sort of cheese mixed up with the rice cooked in clear broth.

Seeing him flexing his fingers like an athlete stretching his legs before a foot race and knowing exactly that she was in for a fresh round of play-wrestle, Belinda squealed, playfully, and tried to run but her long-legged husband was too fast for her. Getting chased all over the penthouse flat, she just could reach the bedroom when she suddenly tripped over the edge of the bed and landed on top of it. Murdock quickly jumped onto the bed next to her and grabbed her to pull her close, flipped her over, and started to tickle her bellybefore sitting on her legs, pinning her on the bed and nailing her hands simultaneously with his knees to keep her in place. He rubbed his hands together looking forward to the pleasure of tickling his spouse once again – an act belonging to the play-wrestle, in agreement from either side. His grin widened even more when he pushed up the thin fabric of her sleeveless t-shirt to expose the soft curve of her belly, her sensitive sides and the lowest ribs and started prodding and poking the now fully unprotected weak spots he knew so well by now, mounting a full-force ten-finger attack on her sides, ribs and belly. In addition, he slipped his long fingers underneath her arms every now and then to poke her shaved armpits, knowing full well how particularly sensitive this spot was. The only spots being more sensitive were her soles and the back of her knees. When he got the chance to tickle her feet, he held back as good as he could since he knew that she couldn't stand that for long. Therefore he had done it only once or twice since they had moved in together. But he still couldn't help grinning whenever he remembered her hysterical laughter and her squirming to escape his firm grip when he had done it the first time, sitting on her legs while they had been watching TV. He had been nailing her knees with his left leg and her ankles with his right leg, slowly dragging his fingers all over her soles, sending her into screams of laughter. Belinda squealed again, playfully, squirming frantically as if to escape but failing completely. Murdock grinned amused, knowing her struggle was part of the act and no use since he wasn't just taller than her but stronger and faster, too. He could keep her in place without much effort and without hurting her.

As he really enjoyed tickling her and hadn't had the chance to do it in a while, almost a quarter of an hour went by before the pilot decided to let go of his wife with a final squeeze of the soft flesh just above her hips and release the grip of his legs. He gave her a grin from ear to ear as he put his hands on either sides of her shoulders. Then, he bent down and kissed her to confirm the play-wrestle was over.

"See what happens if you'll question my cooking abilities, sweet darlin'," he said, shaking his index finger dramatically at her.

"I'm really sorry, my handsome Captain," Belinda whispered a mock apology as soon as she could breathe better, tenderly smiling at him and sliding her hands up his thighs to his hips and down to his knees again, "I didn't mean to question your cooking abilities. The different taste just amazed me."

"'S okay, my sweet darlin'," Murdock answered softly, smiling brightly and lying down next to her, "And you were right, it was tasting different. I had the idea to improve the dish a bit, y' know. I wanted to surprise you."

"And you've done great. It was marvelous," Belinda said lovingly and turned around to face him, caressing the tip of his nose with hers so their noses and lips touched at the same time. She was sure that there would never come a day the pilot wouldn't surprise her. There would always be an idea popping into his mind's eye sooner or later. Murdock wrapped his arms around Belinda's shoulders, snuggled close to her, and kissed her tenderly. She felt his fingers sliding along her spine and put her arms protectively around her waist just in case a round two was in the works. It wouldn't be the first time that the pilot would get the idea of tickling her again when she didn't expect him to.

Murdock took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He just hoped that his wife might never find out that he had some rather ticklish spots himself, too. He wasn't as ticklish as her but it was enough to give her the chance of a real good payback. And he knew if she ever found out, she would definitely take every advantage of this knowledge she could get, and he knew he'd have it coming for the numerous times he had tickled her. Yet he couldn't let it be – it was just too much fun to drive her insane just by dragging his fingertips across her belly and along her ribs or giving her sides a few sudden pokes with both index and middle fingers, watching her jerk away and try to get out of reach – unsuccessfully, of course, given the range of his long arms.

Actually, Belinda didn't really mind the tickle attacks of her husband as they always lead to some pleasant apology like spending the rest of the evening or the day in bed, cuddled close together, sharing tenderness and talking, mostly until midnight or the next morning or like taking a walk in a moonlit night, pausing to see the sun rise, holding each other close.

And tonight, she was really glad about the tickle attack because she had important news for her husband. She had been to a doctor a few weeks before they had set off for their trip to Ohio because she hadn't felt good and had been told that there was a particular reason for her not feeling well – she was in the family way. She had given it a lot of thought, and now she had found the right words to tell her husband. Just saying "Oh, by the way, I'm pregnant." didn't seem to be adequate.

"I have to tell you something, handsome Captain," she therefore began.

"Okay, sweet darlin'," Murdock replied, taking her hands in his and kissing the knuckles. "I'm listenin'."

"Remember the last time when we had pizza before we went to see my family?" she asked, straightening up.

"Sure," the pilot said, frowning, "How could I forget the first time I've seen you eating anchovies?"

"Well, I had a reason for taking the first piece of your pizza." Belinda closed her eyes for a moment.

"So, what was the reason for you gobbling down the first piece of my pizza? Tell me." Murdock straightened up on one elbow and ran his index finger along his wife's nose and chin, and kissed her eyelids and her forehead.

"The reason was that our little family is complete now." That was all Belinda could say before she heard the pilot gasping for air. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a broad and very happy grin lighting up her husband's expression.

"Are you gonna tell me that... that you are…?" he asked, "That… that I'm gonna be…? That we'll have…?" He was unable to finish the sentences, shaking all over with delight.

"That I'm pregnant? Yes, I am," Belinda replied with a smile. "That you'll be a father? Yes, you'll be, and I bet you'll make a helluva father. That we will have a baby? Yes, we will." She was unable to hide a smile since her husband looked ready to turn a somersault in midair any moment. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him to settle him down again. But it took a felt eternity before Murdock was able to get a grip again. He put his trembling hand on his wife's belly, caressing it gently before bending down and kissing the soft skin above her belly button where he expected his child to be growing. Then he straightened up on his hands and knees and panted a few times, his tongue hanging out of a corner of his mouth. Finally, the pilot threw his head back and uttered a howl resembling the outcry of a lonely prairie wolf in the moonlit desert after a successful hunting. Belinda smiled, imaging the faces of people who might hear the out-of-place sound.

"Down, boy!" she ordered, sounding as rigid as she could. But seeing him sitting in front of her on his hands and knees and panting with the tongue hanging out of the corner of his mouth, made her smile nonetheless. Murdock gave a little whining sound, hanging his head, as if to ask if she really could be mad at poor, little him. Belinda stroke his back as if ruffling some fur until he blinked a few times and shook his head to slip out of the canine character again. Tenderly, Belinda pulled him close so he could rest his head on her shoulder and close his eyes. He splayed his hand across her belly, and dragged his thumb slowly back and forth across the soft skin until Belinda fell asleep.

The pilot however was far too excited to do more than just take a nap. Being unable to sleep was nothing new to Murdock, but this time it was for a good reason instead of haunted dreams of war, blood and death. He was trying to imagine what their son or daughter would look like. Maybe it would have Belinda's face with his eyes or vice versa. Or maybe it would look like one of their parents, being African-American like Belinda's father or Caucasian like her mother and his parents. Murdock remembered what he had learned in Biology in highschool and considering his knowledge about genetic science, even a dark-skinned child with the blue eyes of Belinda's mother really might be possible. Besides, he was wondering if Belinda's house would be big enough for a family with offspring. When he realized that he might have to get a new house with more space to live in, Murdock couldn't help gasping for air, making Belinda straighten up who had snuggled into his arm, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Everything okay, my handsome Captain?" she whispered, knitting her brows.

"Yeah, sweet darlin'," the pilot said, tenderly caressing her hand that rested on his heart. "Just a dream."

"What dream?" She looked at him, caressed his chest and rested her head on his shoulder again, expecting to hear one of the war occurrences he had told her several times. By now, she was used to him waking up in the middle of the night from a nasty dream, just the way she was used to him acting like a dog from time to time.

"Tell me," she demanded. The pilot described his thoughts about the child's visual aspects in a few sentences.

"Sounds interesting," Belinda agreed and couldn't help smiling about the image of an Afro-American child with her mother's blue eyes, either.

"What do you think about a stroll in the city, sweet darlin'?" the pilot suggested when he found himself unable to go back to sleep.

"With pleasure, my handsome Captain," Belinda said, putting on a long-sleeved dark red t-shirt and a black jogging suit to go with her sneakers. Even if Spain was a sunny country, the nights could become quite chilly. When her husband had gotten dressed as well, the pair left the apartment to go down the street towards the center of Barcelona hand in hand. However, the night turned out to be warmer than expected. Murdock and Belinda sat down on a bench on Barcelona's shopping boulevard with lots of small stores and eating houses. Despite the late hour, the street was crowded. The pilot wrapped his arms around his wife and put his head on her shoulder while he was watching the people passing by. Suddenly, he clicked his fingers and pointed at the sky where a crescent moon was hidden behind some ragged clouds.

"Look," he whispered. "Just like in the night when we went out for the first time. The Movie Night, remember?" Belinda nodded, smiled and leaned back into her husband's embrace.

"And what a wonderful night it was!" she whispered and cranked her neck to kiss his jawbone before a quiet rumble from her stomach made her tear her eyes from his features.

"I think I could do with a snack," she said quietly. "How about you?"

"Me too, sweet darlin'," the pilot agreed, rolling his eyes at the sudden change of subject and kissing her cheek. He looked the street up and down to see if one of the small eating houses was still open. Suddenly, his face brightened up.

"Look!" He pointed towards a small restaurant on the other side of the street. Some tables and chairs were standing in front of it.

The pilot and his wife went over to sit at a table and study the folded paper menu. A few minutes later, the waiter appeared next to the table to take their order. Belinda told him that she had decided to take a plate of mixed starters – deep-fried potato wedges, deep-fried mushrooms and deep-fried calamaris with sour cream on the side – and a large Submarine sandwich with rubbed-on tomatoes, olive oil and tuna fish. Murdock grinned when he heard her order. He had chosen a baked potato with sour cream on top.

"So that's a snack to you?" he grinned, "Hope you'll find rest after such a meal."

"Well… I just don't want the baby to be lonely," Belinda smiled, making the pilot grin back, "Besides, you know I love to stay awake with you, my handsome Captain. And if your potato shouldn't be enough to feed you, we can share the sandwich." One of the first things Belinda had learned about the pilot was that he was almost always hungry and that he could eat lots of food containing sugar or fat like cornflakes, chocolate bars, candy and cakes or pizza, hamburgers and French fries, almost without gaining weight.

"Thanks. That's one thing I adore about you. Not only you're a pretty girl, you're such a smartgirl, too." The pilot leaned across the table to kiss her when the waiter returned with their food and two bottles of Coca-Cola.

"Coca-Cola?" Belinda frowned at the beverage.

"Well, can't let have you alcohol as you're with child, now," Murdock explained with a proud grin and a little shrug. Belinda nodded, taking his hand and entwining her fingers with his. It was touching that he was caring about her condition so much already, even if there wasn't really much to see of her pregnancy yet. Belinda had reached the fifth month, and her belly had grown up to the size of a small watermelon.

Since he knew she was pregnant, the pilot used every opportunity to put his hand onto her belly and feel for the baby. Although it wasn't much to feel of the baby yet, he enjoyed the smooth skin of the round belly against his palm. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he imagined that the baby might be able to see or feel his fingers touching the belly and reach out to touch his hand. Whenever this idea crossed his mind, he concentrated on thinking positive thoughts like the rush that always washed over and through him when he stepped into a cockpit. Besides, it was still an odd thought that he would be a father in a few months so touching the belly made him realize it better. Sometimes he stayed up late, lolling in the tub or lying on the couch, enjoying a lollipop or some hard candy and thinking about this new turn of life. A new stage of life both of them were looking for a lot.

A few days later, Belinda suggested traveling on to Hastings, a coastal town southward of London since she wanted to see Britannia's pulsing capital as well before they would go home again. But as the British capital was a pricey place, Face had organized a double room in a bed & breakfast in the coastal town close to the city. So, the pilot and his wife could stay three weeks at low expense in the small town boarding house instead of just a few days in a high-priced London hotel.

Besides, the small town had a nice beach and was surrounded by a peaceful forest where the couple took long, romantic walks in moonlit nights or could make picnics on sunny days or, depending on the pilot's mood, on a moonlit, balmy night.

When he had taken a checked blanket from their room to sit on and had bought a couple of pizzas with their favorite toppings – anchovies for him and salami, ham, sliced tomatoes and extra cheese for Belinda – from an Italian take-away place to take her to a moonlit picnic on the beach for the first time, Belinda hadn't been able to believe it at first. But then again, knowing he hardly did things without a reason, Belinda had decided to just be surprised by his idea. Maybe it wasn't the reason she'd expect but it always turned out to be a good one. It always mad her realize that she loved the pilot for not being like any other guy.

Murdock and his wife chose some rocks close to the water to sit on the blanket and eat the pizzas. Belinda smiled when she saw the anchovies on her husband's pizza were lying on top of the cheese, forming the words "Emily" and "Henry". Obviously, he had thought about a name for their baby.

"So, what do you think?" he asked, pointing at the names.

"They sound nice, handsome Captain. Emily was your mother's name, wasn't it?" Belinda asked, remembering one night when they had talked about their kinsfolk. "She died when you were five, right?"

"Right," the pilot agreed. "I thought it would be nice to remember her that way. Henry was my grandfather's name. I grew up at my grandparents' farm. They died in a train accident when I was in my teens, remember?"

"I remember," Belinda agreed. "The names are really nice. Let's see which one to pick when the baby is born."

"Just when I hoped you'd gimme a hint," he sighed, taking the first piece of his pizza so the names were torn apart. Belinda started eating her pizza, too.

"Sorry, no hints," she said softly, shaking her index finger at him when she had finished the first piece. "You'll have to wait, handsome Captain." The pilot lowered his gaze and sighed again.

Belinda wasn't sure yet if they'd have a boy or a girl, but even if she'd known she wouldn't want to tell her husband quite yet – it was far too much fun to watch him using his imagination.

"There's something else I wanted to tell you," he continued now. "I thought about getting a new house for us so we'd have more livin' space for you, me and our child." Suddenly, he jumped in surprise and slowly withdrew his hand.

"What is it?" Belinda asked and smiled although she could imagine what had happened. She had felt the baby move inside her.

"It kicked me." The pilot gave his wife a puzzled glance and asked, "What did I do for gettin' kicked?"

"Nothing. It just moved. The same way you do when you're sleeping," Belinda explained with a smile and kissed his forehead. "You ain't sleeping like a log, either, you know. Nobody does, I guess."

"Oh!" The pilot blinked and shrugged.

"Supposing you'd go find a new house… just supposing… where would it be?" Belinda suddenly wondered.

"Remember when I told you I grew up in rural Texas? It was great growin' up there. So, I think I'd like to live a bit further from the rush of the city. I want our child to see there's more to life than rushin' around like a jack rabbit all day," Murdock answered in a kind of dreamily voice and smiled at her. Belinda smiled back.

After they had come back home to the States, Murdock started searching for another comfortable home for his family. When the pilot had told the news to his team mates, Face had offered to help him finding a house and B. A. had promised to build furniture for the baby. And finally, the con man found a nice and comfortable two-story house for Murdock and Belinda close to the small town of Topanga Beach that had everything a little family needed for a good life. The con man even had made it possible to have Belinda's house sold for a more than decent price and get the new house at low expenses. That way, the couple could save some money for a rainy day.

When Belinda saw her husband come home accompanied by Face, she smiled. The arrival of the men indicated they seemed to have had success. She took a couple of steaks and two big potatoes out of the fridge. She had bought the food earlier this day to celebrate these news. Some time later, the steaks were marinating in vegetable oil mixed up with black pepper, chopped sweet basil, chopped rosemary and cut-up garlic cloves, and the potatoes were cut in half and baking in the oven. Each potato half was cut-in several times, covered with chopped herbs and a mixture of butter, a bit of rough sea salt, and some powdered megnut and was wrapped in aluminum foil. A small saucepan with the rest of the butter inside sat on the stove, ready to melt the butter.

"Heh, sweet darlin'! Come into my arms!" Murdock pushed the door open and reached out to embrace his wife, grinning from ear to ear.

"Got news, handsome Captain?" Belinda asked and held on to his shoulders when he pulled her close and carefully turned around to spin her.

"What can I say? Thanks to Faceman here, we found a nice house for my family for a good price," the tall pilot explained with a happy grin and put his hand on her belly to greet the baby as well. The con man nodded affirmatively.

"And here's something for a rainy day," Face said and handed a brown envelope to Belinda who pulled him into a rather unexpected hug.

"Thank you, Face," she answered and let go of the con man again. "My handsome Captain already told me you're good at those things, and considering the wonderful wedding ceremony you made possible for us I know you're a great man of coordination but I almost forgot how good you really are." She handed the envelope to her husband. Murdock looked inside and quickly thumbed the bills to count the money. It turned out it was much more than he or Belinda had expected. It almost seemed as if Face would have gotten the new house for a song.

"The house is actually a holiday residence built like a round-year home, a bit bigger than this place, less than half a mile past Topanga Beach. In fact, the beach is beginning right behind the porch steps behind the house," Face explained when the men followed Belinda into the kitchen. She checked on the potatoes before she started to heat up a skillet and put the oiled steaks into the pan. As soon as the frying meat filled the kitchen with delicious scent, she remembered her manners and asked Face if he'd like to join them.

"Aw, no," the con man answered, catching Murdock's slightly irritated glance. Face handed a set of keys to his friend and bid a fond adieu to the couple as he could see clearly that the pilot preferred to spend the evening with his wife – and Face couldn't say he'd think that to be a bad idea. In the hearts of his heart, the con man had always wished for a regular home himself; a place to grant him security after he had been on the run for such a long time. Face didn't know about Hannibal's opinion but he had heard B. A. mention the wish to buy a nice house more than once after they would be over and done with the whole thing.

When the steaks and the potatoes were done, Belinda turned on the cooking plate under the sauce pan to melt the rest of the butter before she put the steaks and the potatoes on two plates, cut the potatoes into smaller pieces and poured the melted butter over the potatoes. Then, she started to prepare baked ice cream for dessert; she opened three eggs to separate the egg yolks from the egg-white. Since they weren't needed, the egg yolks met the trash can before Belinda started to whisk the egg-white into meringue. She heated up the oven at 350 degrees before she filled two pieces of chocolate ice cream into a round ceramic baking dish, added some red sugar stars, stirred them with the ice cream, covered all with the meringue and put the dish into the fridge.

"Coming?" she said, looking at her husband. Of course she knew she didn't really have to ask if he would come for dinner. So she wasn't surprised to see Murdock had already sat down, throwing an invisible cowboy rope at her to reel her close. She took his hand when she was close enough, let him pull her towards the table and sat down on the chair facing his so they could have dinner.

"Sweet darlin', this is really yummy," Murdock said through a mouth full of spicy baked potato while he mashed the potato with the melted butter and mixed it up with the well-done steak cut in pieces. He leaned across the table to kiss his wife and pat her hand.

"Thanks, handsome Captain," Belinda replied, smiling contently. She was delighted that he liked the food because she was used to prepare sweet and spicy muffins, all kinds of baked dishes, different kinds of salads, fried eggs sunny side up and pancakes but this was the third time in her life she had cooked a steak, and the first two times weren't worth mentioning at all. She mashed her potato with the melted butter and mixed it up with the cut-up steak, too before she put a forkful into her mouth. The pilot was right – it was yummy.

When Belinda had finished her plate, she put the baking dish into the oven and set 5 minutes on her kitchen alarm-clock. When it was done, the couple cherished the baked ice cream.

On the next afternoon, Murdock took Belinda to see the new house. Of course, he had taken pictures over pictures but he wanted her to experience the entire ambiance of the new place with her own senses, wanted her to see and feel what he had seen and felt. The steady rush of the waves had been wonderful. Murdock was sure Belinda would love it, too.

When the taxi was approaching the house, Belinda took Murdock's hand, caressed and kissed it.

"It's really a wonderful place out here," she said, smiling at him. Murdock searched the pockets of his jacket for the set of keys and unlocked the door to lead his wife through every room of the house, starting with the comfortable living room with the wonderful view on the beach, followed by the room next to it that happened to be the kitchen. Wide-eyed, Belinda looked around. A few cabinets with maize yellow doors were attached to the walls of the kitchen, giving a warm aspect to the black-and-white floor resembling a chess board, and the white walls. A wide window with colorful curtains let the light of the sunset float into the room. Belinda looked at Murdock and could almost see the little cogwheels of his brain working.

"What do you think about painting the walls in a reddish color?" she asked, trying to work out what kind of ideas he was getting.

"Good idea, sweet darlin'," the pilot agreed, tapping his chin, "The color would make the room look like a Mexican cantina." He took her hands and softly kissed the knuckles.

The next spot to see was the porch made of brown wood. Some wooden steps led down to the beach and disappeared in the sand. The wood was lacquered with transparent paint to protect it from rain. The steps were still warm from the heat of the August day so the couple sat down on the stairs to enjoy the view and imagine their child who would be born at the end of next month running around and playing on the beach. Suddenly, the song "beach baby" – a song he had heard years ago – filled the pilot's mind. He drew a deep breath and started humming the melody. Belinda leaned back against Murdock's chest and put her hands on his knees as if he was an armchair. She closed her eyes and gave a joyful sigh.

"I knew you'd love it," Murdock answered and put his arms around her to caress her belly that was as big as a Halloween pumpkin by now. He felt the baby moving inside as if it couldn't wait to come out of the womb and see the place with its own two eyes. Then he rested his chin on his wife's shoulder so they could watch the sun disappearing into the ocean together.

"It's really a wonderful place," Belinda whispered, snuggling her head against Murdock's shoulder. "I can't wait to have breakfast or supper out here on the porch."

"Neither can I. It's gonna be lovely," the pilot said and kissed her cheek while the sun was setting, turning the ocean into liquid gold.

"You know, handsome Captain, we're happy people," Belinda added in a hush voice as if every loud word would make the beautiful view burst like a bubble.

"Yeah, sweet darlin', we're happy people," Murdock agreed and kissed her temple.

With the help of Hannibal and B. A., the pilot and his wife packed their stuff to move into the new place on the next day. With the help of B. A.'s strength, it took less than expected to arrange the furniture in the new place. While the men arranged the heavy furniture, Belinda took care of arranging minor things and Tabby's stuff to help the cat getting used to the new place. During the first hour, she watched Tabby wandering through the house and taking a closer look here and there.

"Well?" Belinda said when the cat finally made herself comfortable next to her on a sunny spot on the porch. "You like the new home, too?" Tabby meowed and purred as if to agree, looking the beach up and down, and tucking her paws except for one underneath her body. Then, all of a sudden, the cat flicked her tail and turned her ears to the left. Belinda let her eyes follow the movement to notice a small lizard crawl along on the lower step. Quickly, Tabby reached out to catch it and pin it to the step with the paw that had remained outstretched. When the reptile had stopped squirming, Tabby pulled it close enough to push it towards Belinda.

"For me?" the young woman said, smiling. "Why, thank you, Tabby." Keeping a paw on her victim, the cat sat up to purr and rub her head against Belinda's outstretched hand. Tabby meowed again and puffed out her chest as if to say, "And I caught him all by myself! Me, the great huntress!"

"I see," Belinda said. She stroke the cat's head, picked up the lizard and wrapped it into a handkerchief, seeing the golden eyes twinkle. "You're really a great, great huntress." The cat added little trills to her purring.

When the furniture was in its place and Belinda had offered a couple of drinks to the team mates, Hannibal and B. A. said good-bye to return to their own habitats. As soon as the team members had left, Belinda showed Tabby's prey to her husband and said, "Look at the welcome gift Tabby gave us." The pilot grinned.

"She caught it all by herself?" he asked.

"She did. I saw her catching it," Belinda explained. Murdock bent down to pick up the cat and caress her fur.

"Way to go, Tabby," he said and nudged her ear with the tip of his nose. "Whatta brave kitty-cat you are."


	10. Chapter Ten: Stella

Dawn was barely breaking one early October morning when Murdock woke up to the sensation of a light poke against his palm that made him smile. Belinda gave a quiet moaning sound when he ran his hand over the curves of her belly and her hip. He kissed her cheek and got up to prepare French pancakes and a creamed fruit cocktail for breakfast. During the months of pregnancy, he had taken care of Belinda's meals to make sure the child would get all needed nourishment to grow up in good health. So he had made his wife eat more fruit and vegetables and drink less coffee. That way, Belinda had discovered the good taste of green tea with brown sugar. A few minutes later, Belinda got up, too and wandered downstairs through the living room into the kitchen.

"Heh, good mornin', sweet darlin'. Come into my arms." Hearing her footsteps, Murdock turned around to face her. He wrapped his arms around her to hug her as tight as her pregnant body would let him and give her a deep kiss and a broad smile.

"Sit, sit," he ordered softly and kissed her again before he nudged her towards the round table in the middle of the room. Since Belinda's old kitchen table had turned out to be too big and too heavy for transport, Hannibal had bought a substitute table for the couple as something the Colonel had called a "moving day present". Belinda smiled as she watched her husband's lean and lank body move around in the room, baking the French pancakes, slicing some red and green apples, some bananas, a few strawberries, carefully peeled and cleaned oranges and peeled and cut up kiwi fruits and mixing the slices up with whipped cream and powdered vanilla extract in a big bowl and singing "Something stupid" to himself. He was dressed in the Cookie Monster pajama with matching bed socks he used to wear during the cooler months when the days wouldn't be warmer than 57.2 degrees at the most, and Belinda couldn't help laughing quietly. She, herself, preferred the Muppet's Show over Sesame Street – her favorite character was Animal, the band's wacky drummer – but it was just too cute to see her husband wearing his favorite pj's. Murdock placed a big mug of hot tea and a small bowl of brown sugar in front of Belinda and cupped her chin to raise it and kiss her lips. She added three spoonful of sugar to the tea and stirred carefully. She sipped some tea and licked her lips while she watched her husband setting the table.

"Enjoy," he said and kissed her temple before sitting down himself. Belinda took the first pancake on her fork, rolled it up to spear it and tasted the first bite.

"My compliments to the chef," she said, smiling at her husband.

"I'll tell him when I meet him," Murdock promised with a wink and took a pancake himself. Belinda returned the wink, took the next pancake, spread some of the creamed fruit cocktail on it and folded it up into a small package before eating. The taste sensation of vanilla, cream and sliced fruit combined with the pancake made her sigh.

"Y'alright?" Murdock looked at her and patted her free hand.

"All fine," Belinda said. "The wonderful taste just surprised me once again." The pilot shook his head.

"You'd think a gal would learn to trust her guy after a while," he commented, giving her a look from head to toe.

"I do trust you," she assured quickly. "It's just that I take your cooking skills worth mentioning, handsome Captain. I don't want to take them for granted, and I want you to know that." Smiling, Murdock got up, and stepped up next to his wife's chair to pull her close and kiss her.

"S'okay, sweet darlin'. I do know you don't take them for granted, and I'm glad about that," he answered, ruffled her hair gently with the tip of his nose and kissed her temple. Belinda wrapped her arms around his ribcage, as well as her pregnant body would let her, and put her cheek against his chest. Suddenly, a wave of pain rushed through her body, making her clench her teeth for a moment, grab him tight and gasp for air.

"What is it, sweet darlin'?" Murdock asked, taken aback.

"Hurting," was all she could say through clenched teeth. He helped her sit down again and crossed the room with two long steps to get the wireless phone and call an ambulance. Until it would come, the pilot did his best caring for and comforting his wife. When the ambulance arrived, the waves of pain were coming faster and faster. The medic took a closer look at Belinda, felt for her belly, checked her blood pressure, asked for further details and announced that the baby was about to come. Murdock felt a wave of relief and excitement wash through him when he walked next to the stretcher, holding his wife's hand. The strap of a black nylon backpack Belinda called her "overnight-bag" was slung over his shoulder. They had packed it days ago and since then it had been waiting for this moment next to the wardrobe in the bedroom.

It took a felt eternity of more than twelve hours until Murdock could hold his daughter in his arm. He had stayed beside his wife in the Maternity Ward, doing his best to comfort her. He would have taken the labor pains off her if he could. It almost made him cry every time she winced and moaned in pain. But he had reminded himself to be strong for her sake. What would she think of him if he collapsed when she needed him the most? After the baby was born and he heard it give a loud cry, Murdock felt a grin spread on his face. He sat on a chair next to Belinda's bed who was still recovering from the labor.

The pilot wrapped his long fingers gently around his wife's hand, looking at the very beautiful baby girl the nurses had wrapped into a bright pink blanket with irregular dark pink blots and had put into his left arm while he listened to the quiet trilling sounds the baby girl was giving as if to address the world in general. She had Belinda's round face with very light brown, almost white skin – resembling milk with a dash of coffee – and a smaller version of his lips. Fine strands of dark brown and lightly curled hair covered the delicate head. The blanket gave him the idea of buying some baby suits and t-shirts with Piglet on the front for his daughter. Pink was definitely the baby's color. And since he liked to wear a t-shirt with Tigger on the front and Belinda owned a long t-shirt with Pongo and Perdita she sometimes used as a nightwear, he didn't see why his daughter shouldn't wear a t-shirt with Piglet on the front. The half-closed eyes had a dark brown color with a bluish shine making the eyes look kind of peculiar against the brownish skin.

"Welcome to the world. Happy birthday, little star," Murdock said, referring to the bright eyes that were looking at him curiously as if to say, "So, you're the one I heard talking all the time." He reconsidered the name for the baby and, looking into the shining eyes, he settled now for the name of Stella. After the nurses had checked on the baby girl's height of 1'87'' and her weight of 7.05 pounds, Murdock waited for his wife to wake up.

The little girl yawned heartily.

"Good night. Sleep well," the pilot said smiling, kissed her forehead, caressed her tiny hand and kissed her forehead again before ruffling her hair softly with the tip of his nose. Suddenly, when he touched the baby's palm, he felt the baby curling her fingers around his index finger as if she'd try to shake his hand for greeting.

"Welcome to the world, my little star," Murdock repeated softly and ruffled his daughter's hair with the tip of his nose once again. A moaning sound from the bed stirred him. Belinda blinked at him, stretched, yawned as well, and forced a smile onto her face as moving caused pain.

"Good mornin', sweet darlin'," the pilot said and bent over to kiss her. "How do you feel?"

"I'm dog-tired but I feel good, handsome Captain. Just hurts when I move," Belinda answered and shifted into a better position to look at the baby herself. She moaned quietly before she caressed the baby's arm and palm with her index finger and smiled when the baby girl grabbed her finger, too.

"Here's somebody saying hello, too, I guess," Murdock remarked with a smile, putting the baby into his wife's arms.

"Yes, I guess she does," Belinda agreed, smiled and carefully hugged the baby. "Little beauty, ain't she?"

"Beauty? She's a knockout. Today, a gorgeous little girl is born. Oh, by the way – I reconsidered her name. A name is an important thing, y'know, and the little princess here doesn't really look like an Emily to me. I think she looks more like a Stella."

"This from the man known as H. M. to most people," Belinda teased with a smile.

"It's not that I don't have a name as you know full well, Mrs. Murdock," the pilot corrected her. "I just prefer to be called H. M. Suits me better, I think."

"As you wish, Mr. Murdock," Belinda said and nodded. "And you're completely right, handsome Captain, a name is important, and Stella is really a nice name for the little sweetheart."

"Hello, Stella," she said to the baby, carefully caressing the delicate head. The baby answered with a bright smile and some more of the trilling sounds. Belinda smiled back at the baby girl in her arm when Stella snuggled close to her bosom, using it as a pillow, and slowly closed her eyes.

"Look at the little angel," Belinda said tenderly and caressed their daughter's head again. She carefully handed the infant back to her husband, squeezed his hand and laid down to get some rest. Murdock put the baby into the crib next to Belinda's bed so the little girl could sleep, too. A few minutes later, a second nurse entered to take a closer look at the baby and to check the infant's height and weight again as well as Stella's and Belinda's temperature, heart beat and blood pressure.

Much to Murdock's ease, his little family was fine. Belinda and Stella slept safe and sound in their beds. But he decided to stay at his family's side; just in case their condition might change for worse. His left hand held Belinda's hand while his right hand was splayed across Stella's little body underneath the pink blanket. It was still a bit hard to believe that this petite and beautiful baby was his daughter.

_I'm a father now, for__ cryin' __out loud! I'm in charge of two people's lives now – this beautiful baby girl and her__ marvelous __mother, _he thought and gently caressed the baby's cheek with the tip of his middle finger. It was an odd and very wonderful thought that made the butterflies inside of him come alive and a grin spread on his face from ear to ear.

When visiting hours were over the pilot kissed his wife's forehead and made his way for their house. Before feeding Tabby and undressing to crawl into bed, he went into the prepared nursery and looked around to see if everything was alright. The walls had been painted in a bright pink color, and a one-foot band of bright blue wallpaper with small Piglet figures dancing on it ran around the edges of the door and the windows. In the middle of the room stood a wooden crib. B. A. had built it just as the burly Sergeant had promised. A thin blue veil with little sewed-on stars made of yellow velvet fabric was attached to its head part. B. A. had painted the crib in a bright sunny yellow and the pilot liked the idea that his daughter would find her way through pleasant dreams in this bed.

_B. A. may be a big angry mud-sucker but he surely loves kids and he can build the most amazing things, gotta give him that,_ Murdock thought running his fingers over the even-textured wood of the small bed and tucking at the veil to fix the golden stars in place. In the bed there was a small set of pillow and cover in bright red Hannibal and Face had bought, just in the right size for a baby. In front of the window, the pilot himself had hung a tear-shaped piece of cut glass on a string. The glass reflected the sunlight, covering the walls with tiny rainbows and enchanting the room. The pilot smiled. Thanks to Hannibal's, Face's and B. A.'s help, his daughter's room looked wonderful. The team mates had to come and see the baby yet. But so far, Hannibal and B. A. had been busy with their other jobs, and Face had "other fish to fry", as the con man had put it. Murdock buried his nose into the pillow to catch Belinda's scent, hugged the pillow tightly, took a deep breath, and fell asleep with a happy smile on his face.


	11. Chapter Eleven:

Around twelve noon on the next day, Murdock returned to the hospital. He had decided to come every day and look after his family until they were allowed to come home. On the third day, when he prepared to take his family home and Stella smiled at him to greet him he noticed that the color of her eyes had lost their blueish shine and were dark-brown now, making them look a lot more like his own eyes. He picked up the baby, carefully hugged her and kissed her forehead, ruffled her hair with the tip of his nose and said, "Happy birthday, my little star. You're three days old today. And guess what – we're goin' home today, you and Mommy and me."

Carefully, he put the baby back into the crib to reach for Belinda's "over-night-bag", and although he kept looking lovingly at Stella's face he felt Belinda's gaze fixed on him, felt her hand creeping up his biceps to his shoulder and knew she was smiling in the delighted way she always did when he was pulling one of his antics. When their eyes finally met, the pilot and his wife smiled at each other.

"Well, every birthday is worth mentionin', isn't it?" Murdock said when Stella uttered a small sound that suggested that breakfast was too long ago for the baby. The parents looked at her before they returned their attention to each other for another long moment.

"You're right, handsome Captain," Belinda agreed, sat up and pulled her husband close to kiss him. Then, she opened the top buttons of her hospital gown to uncover her bosom. She rested their daughter in her arm and started feeding the baby. As soon as Stella felt the nipple against her lips, she started drinking.

"I could be jealous, now," Murdock grinned, putting his elbow on his knee and his chin on his fist.

"What for?" his wife asked, smiling back.

"Well, she gets fed, and I don't." The pilot pulled a melodramatic face.

"Why don't you go down to the cafeteria and get something there?" Belinda suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea. Can I get you something, too?"

"I'd like a hoagie. Ham and cheese on mayo and a wheat roll, if they still carry them. If not, I'll wait for lunch coming up." Murdock smiled at her, kissed his daughter's forehead and went to the cafeteria on the base floor.

It took some time until Murdock could convince the elderly lunch lady behind the counter to fix up one more submarine sandwich with ham, cheese, and mayo on a wheat roll for his wife. He knew those were her favorites. When she was feeling down, he could always cheer her up with a couple of those sandwiches – made with lots of love, of course. Murdock smiled and searched his pockets for his wallet, watching the lunch lady wrapping the submarine sandwich into paper foil.

For himself, since he wasn't just hungry but starved, the pilot bought four foot-long chili dogs and a stick of chewing gum to clean his teeth afterwards. He was done with the first hot dog as he left the cafeteria; when he got back to Belinda's room which was located in the 1st floor, there was only one left. He stifled a belch before he knocked on the door and waited for Belinda saying, "Come in, please." He put the sandwich onto her bedside table and a piece of gum into his mouth before he kissed her.

"Enjoy," the pilot said when Belinda handed him the baby to eat her sandwich.

"Certainly will," she assured him.

"Well?" he asked after a few minutes while he held Stella in his arms, rocking her gently. The sight of her made his heart swell as if it could rub out most of the horror of the ugly things he had seen – not all of it, but most. Holding his baby girl in his arms could even compare with the rush washing through him when he was up in the air with a plane or a helicopter at his will.

"Not bad," Belinda pointed out through a mouthful of soft wheat bread, ham, cheese and mayonnaise. "But nothing compared to yours, handsome Captain. Not even close. Yours are still the best ham-and-cheese-on-mayo hoagies in the world."

"Thanks." The pilot put Stella's head against his shoulder and carefully patted her back with his fingers to make her belch, the way he had seen his wife do before. Then, he wiped the baby girl's mouth with a towel and put her back into her bed.

To the pilot's disappointment, the doctors announced that Belinda and Stella had to stay longer at the hospital because they had discovered that Belinda's blood values had changed for worse. So they wanted to check, considering the short time since the labor. Murdock gulped back his fears when he heard this.

"Sorry, little star," he said and kissed the baby's cheek. "We can't go home now. Mommy isn't feeling good. But I promise we will go home one of these days as soon as Mommy is feeling better."


	12. Chapter Twelve: a dire diagnosis

"Murdock, what's wrong?" Face grabbed the collar of the pilot's jacket and looked him straight in the eyes. His friend had called him and had begged him to come by. The tone of Murdock's voice had sounded discouraging. In fact, Murdock had sounded almost panic-stricken. And the pale and wide-eyed expression Face was looking at now did little to put the con man back at ease.

"Belinda…" Murdock said in a tear-choked voice.

"What about her?"

"She collapsed when I visited this mornin'. The doctors don't know yet what's wrong so they're gonna run her through some tests… and oh boy, I'm so worried," Murdock said while a tear slowly started rolling down his cheek. He wiped the tear off with a swift, almost angry movement of his hand and bit his lip so hard it almost started bleeding at once.

"You mean she gotta stay in the hospital?" Face asked to make sure he had understood. The pilot nodded affirmatively. Then he hid his face in his hands, sniveling quietly.

"Don't you worry," the con man advised, putting an assuring hand on Murdock's shoulder. "She'll be in good hands there, and they'll find out what's wrong so they can help her. And don't you worry about what it's gonna cost, either."

"Really?" The pilot looked at his friend from wide and wet eyes. The tiny blood vessels were clearly visible against the white of his eyes. Murdock hadn't thought that far ahead, and he was glad he wouldn't have to think about it, either.

"Really," Face assured him. "I squirreled away some cash from the last missions, and if it really comes to the worst, we can use the money that's left from selling Belinda's house. Or I can go get a loan."

"But what I'm gonna do now?" Murdock whined, loosing control. "When I married her, I promised to be there for her, in sickness and in health, no matter what, remember? But I can't help her with this. I don't even know where's the problem. So what am I to do?"

"You can take care of your little girl, and you can comfort your pretty wife. I know you can handle that, Murdock," Face replied. The con man hardly could take to see the pilot downhearted like this. He searched his pockets for his car keys and grabbed Murdock's wrist.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go look after your little family. And I'm dying to meet your daughter."

Reluctantly, the pilot let himself get dragged along towards Face's Corvette. Slowly, he opened the door and literally fell into the seat before he pulled in his long legs one by one and slammed the door shut. Face sighed deeply. That Murdock didn't leap into the car without bothering to open the door – the way he normally used to get into the Corvette– clearly showed that the whole situation was pressing on him, hard.

The two friends drove to the Topanga Beach General Hospital in complete silence, just listening to the radio. Murdock had closed his eyes to calm down again since he didn't want to show his wife his inner uproar; he supposed she might be worried enough herself. Face concentrated on traffic, glancing at his eerily quiet friend every now and then. When they arrived at the white and rather sterile-looking building, Murdock got out of the car in the same unenthusiastic way he had gotten in. He waited until Face had parked the car, then he put his hands into his pockets and went straight towards the flat building where Intensive Care Unit was located. Face had his trouble following the pilot's long steps.

Belinda was sleeping when the two men were let into ICU by the elderly head nurse. Face entered first, giving a polite nod and one of his best son-in-law-smiles to the nurse. The sound of the con man's steps made Belinda open her eyes and sit up. Murdock who didn't want his wife to see he had cried waited a moment to wipe his face before he followed his best friend.

"Hey, handsome Captain. Hi, Face," Belinda said and reached out to greet them. Murdock sat down on the edge of her bed and hugged her while Face just shook her hand.

"How do you feel?" Murdock asked, looked into Belinda's eyes and kissed her cheek.

"So-so," she sighed. "I had x-rays around noontime, and the doctor discovered some water in my lungs. He couldn't tell where it comes from. He just said they're gonna transfer me to a clinic in L. A. as soon as possible before it'll get worse or something." Her hands started trembling with the last words. She blinked rapidly to stop the tears she felt in the corners of her eyes. But she couldn't stop the first tear from rolling down her cheek.

"Shh, don't you say so, sweet darlin' – I promise it won't," Murdock whispered, wrapping his long arms tighter around her shoulders, and kissing her temple. Belinda closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she hugged him back and looked at him again.

"I wish I could do more for you, sweet darlin'," Murdock said, sniffling again and cursing inwardly for not being able to hide it.

"Don't torture yourself, handsome Captain. You're doing enough being here," Belinda replied, blushing a little. She slowly shoved her hands into Murdock's jacket and caressed his back, feeling the comforting warmth of his body pressed against hers and doing her best to hide her inner disturbance as she could see clearly that her husband was at least as worried as she was. So she didn't see any point in upsetting him further.

The truth was that she was concerned about her situation because she didn't have a clue what "water in the lungs" was supposed to mean anyway. She just knew it didn't sound good. Suddenly, she felt she wanted to see her daughter and introduce the baby to Face. She pushed a button on her beside table to call the head nurse.

"I'm sure you'll be all right, sweet darlin'," Murdock assured her and put his cheek against her temple. "This is not the end of the world. I'll be lookin' after you as often as I can." He kissed her again and smiled at her, gently wiping off the trail of her tear with his thumb.

"Thanks, handsome Captain," Belinda answered, and kissed his cheek.

Face furrowed his brows. Even if the con man knew that Murdock was very sensitive about other people's moods, Face was amazed how fast the pilot had gotten a grip again; obviously because that was exactly what his wife had needed for now.

When the elderly nurse entered with the baby in her arms, Murdock got up to take his daughter from the grey-haired woman and show the baby girl to Face.

"Face, this is Stella. Stella, this is Face," the pilot introduced, kissing his daughter's forehead. The con man smiled at the baby, and Murdock took a deep breath of relief when he saw that Face's expression was a true smile – one of those genuine smiles his friend barely showed. The baby girl actually seemed to smile back. It seemed to be love at first sight from either side, and the pilot was glad about it.

"She's a lovely little lady. And she's got your eyes, Murdock," Face said. Murdock smiled and looked at his daughter and his best friend. He had wondered if one of the team members would make a goodgodfatherfor Stella. Murdock already had decided to ask Hannibal or B. A. because the Colonel had the wisdom and serenity of a long live, and B. A. was getting along just fine with children. Since his grandparents and his mother had died, the pilot himself didn't have any relatives anymore. And as far as Belinda was concerned, her brothers Marlon and Niles were out of the question for becoming Stella's godfather, too. Besides, Murdock wanted to choose somebody he really knew and trusted – which just included the team members.

As visiting hours were drawing to a close Murdock kissed his wife and daughter good-bye and hoped that Belinda indeed would be all right. When the con man and the pilot had left, the head nurse and the doctor entered the room. The nurse took Stella back to the nursery while the doctor explained what was wrong with Belinda. The tests had discovered that her kidneys had started to fail and shrivel a while ago because she had taken too much of some medication against headache. The pills had damaged the kidneys and the bladder so the body couldn't clean itself properly anymore. Belinda gasped for air when she was told that she had to undergo dialysis as soon as possible. The doctors had decided to do the dialysis during the next possible night. Belinda who didn't know anything about dialysis but didn't like the thought of it at all gulped back her fears and hoped it wouldn't be too tiresome. But – as she was to find out soon enough – dialysis was a rather painful and exhausting process anyway, nighttime or not.

The area of her groin was given a local anesthesia before the surgeon made a small cut and put a thin pipe for dialysis into the aorta. In consequence, Belinda was forced to keep the leg perfectly straight during the seven-hour-dialysis, making it impossible for her to get some , she held on to a spark of hope; the doctor had explained that her left arm would soon be prepared for dialysis to avoid the tube in the groin. Therefore, Belinda hoped the next dialysis would be better.

"Well then, here we go," she said through clenched teeth when the machine next to her started working and she felt her leg twitching a bit.

When the con man had taken Murdock home and had left for his own place, the pilot filled Tabby's food bowl before he yawned, slouched into the bed room, took off his jacket, tossed it over the next chair and fell on top of the bed, flat on his back. He shifted into a comfortable position, closed his eyes and commanded himself to go to sleep, mimicking B. A.'s irritated growling. His mind, however, wouldn't obey. His thoughts kept wandering back to Belinda's slightly trembling hands and the trail of the tear on her cheek. Impatiently, he tapped his temples with both hands loosely curled into fists.

"Quit it up there! Would ya shut up now!" he grumbled at himself to get a grip and shook his head like he was trying to clear it. Tabby jumped on top of the blanket, laid down on his chest, tapped the tip of his nose and purred at him.

"Hi there, Tabby," Murdock whispered when he realized that the cat obviously had noticed his heavyhearted mood and was trying to comfort him. He looked into the cat's eyes and caressed her fur. The cat looked at his face and put her paw against his chin when he started sniveling again. The pilot smiled, glad about the company.

He looked into the golden eyes of the cat again and felt his heavyhearted mood and the bothersome voice in his head fading. Murdock didn't have the faintest idea how the cat had brightened him up but he was thankful that the little animal was with him. He carefully put the cat aside before he got up again and went into the kitchen where Belinda had put some treats for Tabby. He found a plastic bag with little dried fish and an open box of milk tablets in a drawer. He took both and returned to bed. The cat crept up to the pillow and tapped the tip of his nose with her paw again before she slipped underneath the blanket and snuggled her back close against him. She cranked her neck to look up at him and blinked with both eyes.

"Good to have ya here, Tabby," Murdock said and tickled her chin before he gave her three dried fish and two milk tablets. The treats were gobbled down without any hesitation.

The pilot smiled. His brown eyes were shining excitedly while his smile widened even more and the feeling of helplessness faded until it was gone.

Belinda was sleeping again when Murdock came to see her on the next forenoon, accompanied by Amy and the rest of the team. He had decided it was time for introductions.

"Hey, little sister. How you doin'?" B. A. greeted Belinda when the four men and the befriended newswoman were let into ICU and Belinda sat up in bed. Murdock sat down on the edge of his wife's bed and hugged her before he rummaged the breast pockets of his jacket for the sandwiches he had made for her – one with ham and cheese on mayo and one with smoked salmon on cream cheese. She reached out over her husband's shoulder to shake Amy's, Hannibal's, Face's and B. A.'s hand.

"Yeah, just like the big guy said, sweet darlin'," the pilot said. "How are you today?"

"I'm quite okay, thank you. Just tired. Didn't get much sleep last night," Belinda answered, looking first at B. A. and then into the infinity of her husband's eyes. Murdock ran his hand through Belinda's hair and down her back.

"And how are you, guys?" she asked, snuggling against Murdock's shoulder. "No trouble around the next corner, I hope?"

"No, no, we're alright," Hannibal answered with a smile. Yet he sounded a bit disappointed. In fact, since he had nothing to do besides his movie business, the Colonel had been glad when Face had suggested to accompany Murdock visiting his wife. Hannibal's faded blue Bombardier's eyes looked enquiringly into Belinda's face. He had to admit he was quite impressed that the pilot's wife seemed to cope with the situation good enough. Of course, she looked exhausted and a bit pale underneath her brown skin but Hannibal was sure his Captain had helped her as good as he had been able to. Face had told him about Murdock's desperation about Belinda's situation, and Hannibal knew Murdock wasn't one to give up easily. The Colonel felt for the pilot and his wife.

"So, you're ready to meet our little angel?" Belinda asked before she pushed the button to call the head nurse, and told her to bring her daughter. Amy, Hannibal, Face and B. A. nodded, and Belinda and Murdock were curious about the team's reaction to the baby.

"Okay – here she is. Meet Stella Emily Murdock. Stella, meet your daddy's friends," Belinda introduced and handed the baby girl to her husband who gave her a surprised glance and gently cuddled the baby girl, kissing her forehead and caressing her head.

"Stella Emily?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. Belinda had never mentioned a middle name for their daughter but nonetheless he liked the sound of it and he was glad that she obviously hadn't forgotten how much his mother's name meant to him. The pilot's wife nodded and smiled knowingly. She was glad the idea she had gotten during the dialysis had turned out to be a good one. So, being unable to sleep had been effective after all.

"Well, I never declared the name Emily to be out of discussion, did I, handsome Captain?" Belinda explained and caressed her husband's cheek. Hannibal, Face and B. A. looked at the delicate baby before Amy hesitatingly asked to take the infant in her arms.

"Sure," Murdock agreed and smiled at his daughter in the newswoman's arm. The baby gave the trilling sounds again the pilot and his wife thought to be sounds of pleasure.

"She looks really good in your arm, Amy," Hannibal spoke up, sounding a bit like a proud father once again. The newswoman smiled and caressed the baby girl's head.

"Feels good to hold her, too," she admitted and looked at Face.

"Wanna try?" the con man said to the Sergeant, smiling.

B. A. looked at the tiny girl and hesitated a moment before he reached out to let the newswoman put the baby in his arms. A broad smile lightened up B. A.'s expression when he said, "You right, Amy. Feels really good to hold her." The Sergeant gave an unfamiliar giggle and smile when the little girl reached up into the air and put her hands on his mound of gold necklaces. Belinda, Amy, Hannibal, Face and Murdock couldn't help smiling at the sight, either.

"Seems to have taste in jewelery, too," B. A. remarked, eyes darting to Murdock. "Here, man, you better take your little angel back before I'll break her or somethin'."

"I bet you won't, big guy," Murdock answered, grinning broadly. Nonetheless, he took the baby girl from B. A. to hug her and kiss her forehead again. Then, he held his daughter out to Hannibal and said, "Stella Emily Murdock, meet Colonel John Hannibal Smith." He waved one of the tiny hands at the team leader and added in a high-pitched voice, "Hello, Colonel!"

"Hello, little lady," Hannibal grinned and took off one of his gloves before taking the small bundle of joy into his arms and caressing the delicate head. Stella winced and uttered a small cry when she caught a sniff of the cold smoke of the cigar the Colonel had finished in the hospital's parking area. The displeased sound made Murdock frown and tense his muscles for a moment. But in no time, the happiness was back on the little tanned face; Stella smiled as bright as she had when she had been in the arms of Face and B. A. . When the little girl smiled again the pilot uncurled his hands in his lap. Belinda kissed his cheek and smiled. Obviously, Stella liked all of the team and vice versa.

When Murdock noticed his wife stifling a yawn, he literally shooed Amy and his team mates out of the room, called the nurse back in to bring their daughter back to the nursery and kissed his wife's forehead before leaving. To his opinion, Belinda needed all sleep she could get.

As soon as the group was gone, the doctor came in to announce that it was time to prepare the arm. Belinda's bed was moved into the surgery where she was given a full anesthesia so an artery could be connected with a blood vessel at her wrist. Above the surgery there were several rows of seats behind glass so the surgical procedures could be observed, and as soon as the doctor told Murdock about that, the pilot had gone there, hoping his wife might see him and feel better then. And indeed – before Belinda fell asleep from anesthesia, she noticed her husband sitting in the front row and managed to smile in his direction. Murdock smiled back to encourage her and to soothe himself, too. Since the doctor had told him about Belinda's problem and the resulting consequences the pilot had started racking his brain to remember what he knew about kidney failures. Alas, what he remembered was little enough. As soon as he came home, he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table to write down his thoughts on a notepad.

After a while, Tabby came strolled along and rubbed against his shins. Noticing his downhearted mood, the cat jumped on the chair next to him, rubbed her head against his arm, climbed on the table and put a paw onto the pencil so that Murdock couldn't write on. The contact turned the pencil a bit, making the eraser point at the word "potassium" standing in the middle of a line. Murdock eyed the word suspiciously before he remembered potassium to be a mineral that was delivered to the body by most fruit and vegetables. Pineapples, oranges, tangerines, grapes or bananas and all kind of dried fruit and nuts contained much of it, just like potatoes and tomatoes. Potassium was responsible for the correct function of the human muscles to avoid cramps. Murdock tapped his left temple with his hand curled into a loose fist when the memory rushed through his mind, making sense all at once. Normally, the amount of potassium the body didn't need was excreted through the kidneys. A potassic overage could be fatal if the pilot's memory didn't fail him – too much potassium could lead to functional heart disorder or cardiac arrest. Undergoing dialysis and avoiding food rich in potassium would prevent a potassic overage. Murdock sighed in relief when he realized that he could indeed help his wife concerning food. He went into the living room and searched for a lexicon to find out more facts about dialysis and potassium. He found out that bread, cheese, meat, pasta, eggs, carrots, fish, peas, mushrooms, corn, apples and pears were poor in potassium. So he was positive that Belinda might be able to eat these things without having to worry. Besides, he still could cook French pancakes for her and fix up her favorite sandwiches. Maybe he could even create new and delicious dishes for her. He grabbed for the big cook book he had bought years ago and searched for some useful recipes he could change a bit for his wife. He rubbed his hands together and smiled, looking forward to the cooking as he liked to experiment with food, to find new and stimulating tastes. Once he started to think about this subject, he found more and more receipts he could use. It was nearly dawn when he noticed he had been up all night reading.

On the next day, after a few hour's sleep, when the pilot went to look after his wife around noontime, he brought her the first of his new creations, a thermistor bottle of creamed corn soup and a covered bowl of shrimps. The pilot asked the nurse to give his wife a soup bowl and a big spoon before he filled the shrimps into the bowl and poured the soup over the shrimps before he put the bowl on his wife's bedside table. Since the hospital's food hadn't been too good this day, Belinda enjoyed the spicy soup.

"Well?" he asked, watching her eat like she hadn't had food for days.

"Delicious," Belinda said through a mouthful of soup.

Murdock smiled, even if her reaction wasn't a big surprise for him. He had liked the soup himself. But his question had been about the operation, too.

"It hurts when I move the arm. I hope this'll help to heal it," Belinda explained when he told her so, nodding towards an infusion next to her bed. Murdock glanced at her left wrist at the long scar on the inside and the visible stitches. The wrist and the hand were still expanded from the operation and looked like a rubber glove filled to the brim with water. The pilot took her free hand and kissed the knuckles.

"It's gonna be better soon," he said. "Ya see, pain is in the head, so if you think it hurts, it's gonna hurt. So, you gotta think nice things. Just, just think happy thoughts, sweet darlin'.

"Good idea," Belinda replied and sat up to kiss his cheek. "I'll think of the first time when I looked into your big, beautiful eyes and hope it's gonna be good soon. The doctors want to use the vein tomorrow for the first time."

"I'll come by and comfort you as good as I can," the pilot promised.

"Thank you. Would be nice if you could fix another soup for me, no matter what's in it. Potassium ain't too important during the dialysis, I guess. I think it'll get washed out right away."

"Sounds logical. How about creamed potato soup, then? Maybe with some bacon bits for taste, sweet darlin'?"

"Sounds great, handsome Captain." Belinda smiled, pulled him closer and kissed him.

"I love you, sweet darlin'. See ya tomorrow," the pilot whispered and returned the kiss.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: a holly jolly XMas

Almost four years had passed since Mr. and Mrs. Murdock had given birth to their daughter, and despite Belinda's exhausting dialysis she still had to undergo three times a week and the occasional team missions, they had been able to take good care of Stella. They had successfully taught her to walk and to speak her first few words, and she was quite talented even if some of these words were just syllables – for example, she said "'s" instead of "yes" and "'o" instead of "no".

Both Murdock and his wife were proud of their little girl. And especially the pilot had thought about nice surprises for Stella on special days like her birthdays or holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. He wanted those days to be perfect for Stella – and for his wife, too. So he had been sorry that something had been missing on Stella's first Christmas – the little family had had a very beautiful tree and lovely presents and a very amazing appearance of Hannibal disguised as Santa Clause but no snow – so he had planned something special for this year. The pilot had remembered the wonderful Christmastimes he had had on his grandparents' farm where snow had come late but on a regular basis. So he had checked if the farm was still there. When Murdock got the message that the land had been bought by the bank from the near-by town a few years ago and the house had been rebuilt, he called the bank and told the clerk he intended to spend the holidays there with his family. The bank clerk told him it was possible to rent the farm house either for Thanksgiving or for Christmas, and Murdock agreed eagerly, struggling hard to hold back a victory howling.

Now, this would be some holidays to remember! Murdock found it very hard to hide his excitement. At last, Belinda would see his childhood home with her own two eyes in the best time of the year, as far as he remembered. He had spent lots of nights holding her in his arms and telling her about his childhood adventures and his time at school, and she had enjoyed listening to him, her head resting on his chest.

After the pilot and his family had spent Thanksgiving – which happened to be on Murdock's birthday this year – with the team mates at Face's apartment, Murdock had told the rest of the team about his holiday plans, and much to the pilot's pleasure, Face had promised to look after Tabby and the house in Topanga Beach while the family would be gone. The con man liked the cat – even if she left lots of hair on his suits, the little animal was pleasant company. The pilot had decided that special holidays required a special transport – anyone could go by car to a place he or she had known once, after all. So he had asked his supervisor at the freight company if he could borrow one of the helicopters for a while. Since he had done such a thing more than once before, it took Murdock little effort to get his hands on the helicopter.

Early on a late November morning – in the week after Thanksgiving –, the pilot felt sleep leaving his body. Belinda's head rested on his chest, her hand was splayed across his lower belly. He stretched carefully, yawned, ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. Belinda moaned quietly and yawned, too.

"Mornin', sweet darlin'," Murdock whispered against his wife's forehead, making her smile.

"Morning, handsome Captain. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thanks. Gotta big surprise for you and our little star," the pilot replied when the little girl gave a little cry in her room, as if on cue.

"A surprise?" Belinda sat up and looked at her husband. The pilot folded his hands behind his neck and nodded. She resisted the urge to ask for details, knowing full well he wouldn't give. So she just kissed him and left the bed to look after the baby.

Tabby sat on the chair next to the baby's bed with her front paws on the crib's edge, looking inside. When Belinda came to the bed and joined the cat, Stella looked and smiled at them both. Belinda picked up the little girl, and took her into the bed room to her father. Sitting up, Murdock reached out so Belinda could put the baby girl in his arms before she went into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. Then, she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family; a bowl of sweet porridge with peeled and sliced apples for Stella and fried eggs sunny side up with bacon and toast for her husband and herself.

The pilot cuddled the delicate baby girl, smiled at her, and kissed her forehead before he laid back until his head found the pillow again. He put his wrists together underneath the baby's ribcage, forming a big bowl to hold his daughter up on his outstretched arms and play something with her he had called "whirlybird"; making sounds like a helicopter, he slowly lowered Stella until she lied on his chest. Every now and then, he lifted her up again, making her squeal and giggle in delight. Finally, he wrapped his arms around the baby and kissed and cuddled her lovingly. After a few minutes of rest he kissed Stella's forehead, got up, and followed Belinda into the kitchen where she had set the table. He put the baby girl into her seat, kissed his wife and sat down himself to dig into the breakfast. He put the slices of bacon on a slice of toast and one egg on top of the bacon before he flavored the egg with some salt and lots of powdered pimento. Finally, he covered the eggs with a second slice of toast and started eating. Within a few minutes, the first egg sandwich was gone. The only prove of him eating were a few stains of egg yolks on the pilot's white sleeveless t-shirt he had worn with his underpants for sleeping. He emptied half of his coffee cup in one gulp, stiffled a belch with the back of his hand, and started to feed the porridge to Stella. When the little girl was fed, too, the pilot fixed a second egg-and-bacon-sandwich to gobble it down before he announced his Christmas plans to the family. Belinda clapped her hands in delight when he mentioned the helicopter and the snow. A week later, after his wife had asked her boss for free time, the pilot steered the helicopter to the part of Texas where he had grown up. And to Belinda's pleasure the first snow had already come down. The farm and the surroundings were covered with a thin white blanket. She was glad she had chosen a pair of black short-heeled boots resembling the ones cowboys used to wear instead of the tennis shoes. To protect herself against the expected cold, she had dressed in a warm pair of cherry-red strapped pants, a long blue pullover with red spots and a pair of fluffy purple non-skid socks she had bought and had wrapped a colorful scarf around her head as a makeshift hood. The pilot had bought a new pair of black combat boots for the trip. From above, he pointed at things he remembered from his childhood, like a roadside café he often had been at with a couple of guys he had known. Finally, the helicopter landed in front of a two-storied wooden house near a small town.

"And... we're here!" The pilot unfolded one of his long arms to point at the house and the landscape. "That's where I grew up. Well, sweet darlin', what do you think about this part of the Lone-Star State?"

"Looks nice," Belinda said. The family climbed out of the helicopter as soon as the rotor blades had stopped turning. Stella eyed the white floor suspiciously until her father picked her up and took her mother's hand to lead both into the house. The quiet crushing of their steps through the snow made the little girl laugh again soon. The family went through the hall into the kitchen and the living-room with the fire-place. Then, they went up the stairs to look at a big bed room that seemed to have belonged to Murdock's grandparents. Another stairway led to another sleeping room in the attic, and seeing the way her husband's eyes were lighting up, Belinda assumed that this had been his own former room. Every room looked very comfortable and inviting.

The first night in the farmhouse was peaceful for the little family. In the morning, after they had had breakfast, Murdock went into the living room to attach colorful socks with the family's names on to the fire place and to light a fire so the house would warm up. Belinda started to clean the dishes while the pilot took a shower, put on a pair of jeans and the combat boots with a dark blue t-shirt, a red-checked shirt, and his leather jacket and dressed their daughter into a red pullover with green spots and a pair of dark blue jeans before he prepared to get a Christmas tree and some more food from the near-by town. It took a couple of hours until Belinda who had watched the snow coming down again saw her husband coming back to the house, pulling a wooden sleigh with a small dark-green tree lying on top and carrying his old army backpack over his shoulder. Belinda started heating up milk to prepare hot chocolate with little marshmallows for the family. She filled pieces of milk chocolate in the first cup for the pilot and the second for Stella and pieces of white chocolate into the third cup for herself and poured in the hot milk to melt the chocolate in the cups before she added a handful of the small white foamy sugar lumps to each cup.

Suddenly, she heard someone opening and closing the front door and pacing the hall a few times, stomping loud. The pilot took off his cap, his combat boots and his leather jacket to leave them in the hall with the backpack – all was heavily powdered with snow – and came into the kitchen to embrace his wife and daughter. Then he went into the living room to sit on the floor in front of the fire-place, leaned against one of the armchairs standing there, and stretched out his legs towards the fire to warm them up.

"Poor handsome Captain." Belinda smiled, hunkering down next to her husband, hugging him, and kissing his ice-cold cheek that suggested that he had walked the way back from town, and Belinda was sure he had enjoyed this walk. She handed him his cup of hot chocolate.

"Here's to you, handsome Captain," she said, clicking her cup against his and drinking. "You found us a very nice Christmas tree."

"Thanks," Murdock sniveled, sipped the hot and sweet liquid, and licked his lips. He sighed when he felt the warmth creeping up his legs and the warm and sweet liquid running down his throat. Thin trails of smoke rose from the hem of his pants while the fabric was drying.

"I'll put the tree in place as soon as I've unfrozen my limbs," Murdock promised, holding on to his cup. Belinda put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him again. Then, she went back into the kitchen to look after Stella and to get the bowl of popcorn she and Stella carefully had put on threads while waiting. She took the girl's hand and the big bowl, returned to the living room, and sat down in one of the armchairs with the girl on her lap. Soon, the warmth from the fire-place made Stella doze off. When the pilot had finished his beverage, he got up and went to put the tree in a corner of the living room. He cut open the ropes holding the branches back so the fir tree unfolded. Then the family started to decorate the branches with multi-colored baubles, delicate figurine ornaments, tinsel and the popcorn strings, Stella sitting on her father's shoulders. When all the decoration was in place – in fact, the tree had more gold on it than B. A. –, the pilot reached into a separate box to produce a small well-loved cuddly toy dog wearing a paper hat and a crudely made skirt. He gave the little toy dog to his daughter.

"Ah?" Stella said, just like she always did when her father was doing something she hadn't expected. It was her way of asking, "What on earth is this, father?" She looked at the toy dog with big and excited eyes.

"This is Billy the Christmas Angel," Murdock explained with a big smile, put his hands against Stella's back to keep her from falling, and stood up on his toes. "Put him on the top branches, little star. He'll guard the presents when Santa comes to lay them under the tree."

Carefully, the little girl kissed the toy dog's muzzle before she whispered, "'nk you, Billy." and put the toy on the highest branches she could reach.

Belinda smiled at her husband and her daughter. Both faces – especially the big brown eyes – were glowing with excitement, and their joyfulness was catching. She was glad the pilot had brought the family here. This would be a wonderful Christmastime.

After the pilot had cooked French pancakes with ham and cheese for lunch, Murdock suggested to take a walk to show his family around after the dishes were done. Belinda agreed and dressed Stella in a pink snow suit with yellow mittens attached to the sleeves to keep the little girl warm. She, herself, chose the black cowboy boots again and a black warm jacket. Once again, she wrapped the colorful scarf around her head as a makeshift hood to protect her from the cold. The pilot settled for the leather jacket and the combat boots again.

The day was coming to an end when the family returned to the house. Every one was tired, especially Stella. After the little girl had lost her suspicion against the snow, she had enjoyed running around and building snowmen of all sizes. Now she was sitting on her father's arm, putting her face against his jacket to protect herself from the cold wind.

After Belinda had fallen asleep, Murdock decided to check if the Christmas Tree lights had been left on. The soft and old-fashioned Christmas music Belinda had turned on filled the air but the lone occupant of the room paid attention to anything but the tree.

As soon as Murdock's eyes had adjusted to the dimmed light of the Christmas tree, he noticed that Stella had cuddled in one of the armchairs looking at the tree with half-closed eyes. Her father's jacket was spread over her little body like a leathern blanket. The pilot cleared his throat and hunkered down next to the armchair to look into her eyes.

"Now, shouldn't you be asleep, little star?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Santa won't visit unless everyone's in bed."

"Billy lonely?" the girl asked quietly.

"No, he's not," the pilot assured her. He turned off the music and the Christmas tree lights, put the jacket on the other armchair, and picked his daughter up to take her to bed. "Billy is a brave little guy. He'll be fine. Now, off to bed with you."

"'kay, Daddy. G'night, Billy," Stella gave in, waved Billy good-bye, and cuddled her face against her father's shoulder. Murdock carried her into the room where he had slept at as a kid and tucked her in.

"Good night and Merry Christmas, little star," he whispered and kissed her cheeks and her forehead. "Sweet dreams."

"G'night, Daddy. Merry Christmas," Stella whispered back,carefully pronouncing every word, and closed her eyes. Before the pilot went back to bed, he quickly went to get his boots and created a left footmark into the cold ashes of the fire-place and a right footmark on the carpet as if somebody had entered through the chimney. Then, he hid the Christmas presents underneath the lower branches of the tree.

Belinda raised her head when when she heard the bedroom door swing open. She looked wonderingly at her husband when he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"All okay," the pilot said, smiled at her and crept underneath the covers to kiss his wife's lips. He snuggled close to her and wrapped his arm around her. Smiling, Belinda rested her head on his shoulder.

The next morning started with Stella rushing into her parents' bedroom and jumping on the bed, missing her father's leg by an inch.

"Daddy, Daddy!" She grabbed Murdock's hand and tugged as hard as she could. The pilot groaned and sat up in the bed. He wiped his eyes, yawned again, and pulled his daughter into a hug.

"Hey, little star! Whatsamatter?" he asked.

"Santa here! Come see!" The little girl beamed.

"Okay, okay, I'm up! I'm comin'," Murdock said, taking his arm off his wife and climbing out of the bed. He wiped his eyes with his palms again and looked at Belinda who just smiled at the excitement and got ready to get up herself. The family went downstairs into the living room to find somebody sitting in one of the armchairs. The figure was dressed in black boots with a white brim and a red suit with a black belt and black leather gloves. An unlit cigar sat in a long white beard and a pointy red hat on the figure's head. A big sack laid next to the armchair.

"Santa!" Stella clapped her hands in delight and ran closer. The visitor let the cigar disappear inside his coat and picked up the little girl to place her on his lap.

"Hello, Stella," a familiar voice said. "Thank you for the cookies and the milk. So, have you been naughty or nice?"

"She's been a very good girl this year, Santa," Murdock chimed in since Stella still looked at Santa's faded blue eyes.

"Well, I checked the list, and yes, I know Stella's been a good girl. Then let's see what I got for a good little girl," the figure said and reached out to rummage the sack. After a few minutes, he gave a carefully wrapped parcel to the little girl and said, "Here you go, Stella Emily Murdock." Stella unwrapped the parcel and opened the relieved box to produce a white teddy bear with black gloves and a tiny cigar in the corner of his muzzle. Murdock couldn't help grinning. The teddy had definitely Face's signature written all over it. For a few seconds, the room was silent before Stella gave an outcry of joy, hugged the teddy bear, and kissed its muzzle.

"'nk you, Santa," she said with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, thank you, Santa," Belinda repeated. She was glad that Hannibal had found a way to surprise Stella once again. And somehow she was positive that a certain lanky pilot had had his fingers in this pie, too. This was definitely her husband's kind of ideas.

Seeing his daughter's glowing face and hearing his wife's soft sigh at the foot mark on the carpet, Murdock still grinned from ear to ear as he walked Hannibal to the door.

"Merry Christmas, Colonel and thank you – you saved the day again," the pilot said while the men were standing in the hall. He shook the Colonel's hand.

"My pleasure," Hannibal replied. "Can't disappoint the little lady on Christmas Day, can I? Hello, Belinda. Merry Christmas to both of you from Face and B. A., too. By the way, B. A. said to tell that the cookies were delicious. Face and I thought so, too." The silver-haired team leader looked at Belinda who had appeared unnoticed at her husband's side and gave her the most friendly nod he had up his sleeve.

"Hi, Hannibal," Belinda said, returning the nod. "Thanks. And Merry Christmas to you and the rest of the team, too." After a final handshake for the pilot and his wife, Hannibal was gone. Belinda and her husband heard the motor of a vehicle get started and looked out of the door to see B. A.'s prized van drive away before they went back into the living-room to unwrap their own presents and to listen to some more of the old-fashioned Christmas music both of them were fond of until Stella climbed on her father's lap and whispered into his ear that Billy looked hungry. The pilot realized that it might be time for some breakfast.

"Who's up for pancakes?" Murdock looked at his wife and his daughter. Both raised a hand since his chocolate chip pancakes – a special dish from his grandmother she had cooked for his birthday breakfasts until he had turned twelve – were even better than his marvelous French pancakes with the fruit cocktail; besides, Belinda could eat the chocolate chip pancakes without having to worry. So he went into the kitchen to cook breakfast. Belinda who wanted to bake more gingerbread biscuits later that day followed him to check if there was everything at hand. She smiled when she saw her husband had thought of getting the ingredients when he had gone to get the tree. She watched the pilot moving around in the kitchen, melting butter in a skillet, mixing the ingredients for the pancakes in a bowl, checking the taste every now and then until he was satisfied and baking the first pancake. Once it was done, he cut it into small bits and fed them to Belinda and Stella to hear their opinion.

"This is yummy, handsome Captain,", Belinda said. Stella cheered and nodded her agreements before the little girl rushed back into the living room to play on with her new teddy bear.

"Thanks," Murdock said, shrugging one shoulder. "By the way, you can be proud of yourself, sweet darlin'. When the big guy calls your cookies yummy, he must be really impressed. I mean, your cookies are yummy anyway but normally, the big guy wouldn't be impressed by anything except for his mother's Thanksgivin' biscuits. Which are quite good, too, by the way. We visited Mrs B. once, and boy, that woman really can cook." The memory made Murdock smile.

"I'll take it as a compliment, handsome Captain," Belinda smiled and stood up on her toes to plant a kiss on her husband's lips before he continued to bake the pancakes.

Stella came back into the kitchen, carefully carrying the teddy bear in her arms. She placed the bear on a chair and climbed on the one next to the bear. She cleared her throat and straightened the bear before smiling at the toy and patting its head.

"Sit upright, Johnny. Or no pancakes for you," she said, carefully pronouncing each word. Smiling, Belinda hurried to put another plate and fork in front of the teddy bear so her daughter's new friend could join them.

"My lord, and I thought Mommy was strict," the pilot remarked in a hush voice, shaking his head. Belinda shot him a look but preferred to say nothing. Instead, she kissed Stella's forehead and said, "Well done, little star. You said a perfect _no_ for the first time."

"'nk you, Mommy," Stella replied.

"Yeah, really good, little star. You're the best daughter ever," Murdock said. He put the last pancake on the serving dish and came to the table to kiss his daughter's cheek. Belinda grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her until their foreheads and noses touched.

"And who are you calling strict?" she asked in a mock-angry voice.

"Just my sweet darlin'," Murdock answered, winking at her. "A woman I'd never argue with." Belinda couldn't help smiling when he looked at her with the big puppy eyes he could do so good. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.


	14. Chapter Fourteen:B A's promise

A few months after the Murdock family had come back to Topanga Beach, on an early April morning, the rest of the team paid them a visit. They had called the pilot after they had managed to get rid of the Military Police once again, coming back from a mission in Virginia, and since they had felt like taking some time off, they had settled for visiting Murdock and his family for a week.

On the third day, before Face, B. A. and Hannibal had gone for a stroll in the town, B. A. had asked – or ordered, to be more precisely – the pilot to clean the van. It was a sunny day and Murdock was humming to himself, happy in his task. It had taken him an hour to carefully wash and polish the outside of B. A.'s van that was parked around the next corner, and now he had turned his attentions to the inside.

"Now this is where I sit," Murdock explained to Stella who had begged for helping him cleaning the van. The little girl bounced on her toes, excited that she was allowed to give a helping hand of real importance. Dressed in her favorite clothes – a pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt with piglet on the front, a red-checkered blouse resembling her father's shirt, a pair of black tennis shoes, a dark blue jeans jacket, and a navy ball cap –, she resembled a female child version of the pilot. She took off her jeans jacket and asked her father to put it on his seat before she rolled up her sleeves to the elbows.

"And Face sits here," Murdock continued when he had folded up the jacket and had put it on his seat. He wiped his cloth over the seat before helping his daughter climb on the passenger's seat.

"Now you sit where the Colonel sits," he added. Carefully, Stella wiped her cloth over the passenger's seat and the dashboard before she leaned in close to take an interested look at the steering wheel, the rear-view mirror, and the driver's seat.

"No, little star." He tapped her shoulder to make the little girl look at him and shook his index finger at her. "Sorry but you can't sit there. The big guy sits there."

Murdock picked up the girl again, hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"He don't let anyone else sit there," he whispered in her ear, making her giggle. "So you'll have to make do with sitting in the Colonel's seat. OK." He stroke the girl's head as he put her back on the seat. Murdock started to sing to himself as he went back to cleaning Face's seat while Stella concentrated on wiping the dash board and the inside of the passenger's door. When the task was finished and the sun was setting, Murdock picked up a tired little girl and her jacket on his arms and returned to the house to find the front door closed. So he turned his attention to the window that was left ajar and cleared his throat. He was in the mood for the occasional Knock, knock joke.

"Knock, knock!" he called.

"Who's there?" Belinda asked from inside.

"GI," came Murdock's reply, his voice indicating one of his trademark grins.

"GI who?" Belinda wondered, smiling broadly, too.

"Gee, I wish you'd open the door so I can kiss my sweet darlin'," the pilot said.

"Well?" Belinda asked when she had opened the door and hugged and kissed her husband and daughter. "All fine?"

"All fine. The van's spotless. The big guy's gonna be pleased," Murdock said, and Stella nodded affirmatively, pushing her cap back on her head as if to say, "Didn't we do great?". The pilot's wife smiled and placed two plates with sandwiches for her husband and her daughter on the table, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Stella and a spicy meatloaf and ketchup sandwich for the pilot. For herself, she had fixed a ham and cheese sandwich. The family sat down to have dinner when there was a knock on the door and Hannibal, Face and B. A. came back from their stroll in town. Quickly, Belinda went to fix some more sandwiches so the team mates could join them.

"Sorry, guys. We're just having cold dinner tonight," she said. "Hope you like it."

"Doesn't matter," Hannibal said. "Sandwiches are just fine."

"Nice place you have here," Face said.

"Yeah, Topanga Beach is nice to live at," Murdock agreed. Hannibal and B. A. muttered their agreements even if B. A.'s expression told a rather different story since the Sergeant had grown up in the metropolis of Chicago. So he was used to the rush of a big city, just like Face was who had spent his life in Los Angeles. But considering the team had been to worse places during their missions, he agreed with Face about the town – it sure was nice. Yet, it was still strange to see Murdock sitting on the couch in the living-room after dinner, hugging his daughter in her pink pajamas with matching non-skid socks before carefully brushing and braiding her hair when she came in to climb on his lap and kiss him goodnight. But then again, "strange" was a very elastic term when it came to Murdock. Hugging the little girl tight once again and kissing her forehead, the pilot seemed to radiate waves of simple and pure love for his daughter in a way none of his teammates ever could have imagined.

"Now, off to bed with you, little star," the pilot ordered softly and watched the little girl saying goodnight to the team mates and her mother, too, before walking up the stairs to her bed room. Belinda followed her to tuck her in. Some time later, she came back and said, "Handsome Captain, we need a special bedtime story here."

"Sorry, guys. Time to make a little girl happy," Murdock said, leaving the couch and going to tell his daughter another of her favorite bedtime stories of a run-around mongrel dog named Billy and his adventures. Interested, the rest of the team followed him to listen, too. When the story had ended with the dog becoming friends with a young farm horse, they crept back into the living-room to join Belinda who had stayed to watch the news.

"Is it always like that?" Face wondered. Belinda nodded, a loving smile spreading on her face.

"You know, guys, Stella loves her Daddy's bedtime stories. He's a helluva storyteller," Belinda explained, "Sometimes when he's not around, she'll settle for me telling her one. But mostly, she prefers his. And then, she'd refuse to go to bed without. Then, the only thing I can do is to let her stay up until she's too tired to keep her eyes open. But as luck would have it, this only happens once in a blue moon. She sure has a mind of her own. And a strong will, too." She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Not much of a surprise, considering the father," Hannibal said with a grin. It was still strange to the team leader what a good father the pilot was making. As if he had been the head of a family for all his life. And somehow, Hannibal was proud of his Captain.

"You see, I love our little sunshine," Belinda said.

"I can imagine that," Face answered. "She's really a lovely little lady. And Murdock makes a real good father as far as I can see." Hannibal and B. A. nodded in agreement before the sergeant cleared his throat and looked at Belinda.

"And how you doin', little sister?" he asked, taking her hand into his and patting it gently.

"Could be better, of course. But altogether I'm quite good, thanks," the pilot's wife said. B. A. nodded as if he had expected this. He gave her one of his rare smiles and a wink.

"Don't you worry, little sister. You gonna get a new kidney soon," the sergeant said in a low voice when Murdock came into the living room.

"Thanks, B. A.," Belinda answered, smiling.

"Yeah, thanks, big guy," Murdock spoke up and sat down between his wife and his team mate, disconnecting their hands, putting his arm around Belinda and giving B. A. an inquisitive glance.

A few hours later, when the family and the team mates had gone to sleep and the house was quiet except for Tabby's occasional purring in her sleep, Belinda found herself thinking about what B. A. had said. She couldn't see what he was driving at.

"Sweet darlin', don't you worry. The big guy's right. You're gonna get a new kidney soon," Murdock said, hugging her and soothingly striking her head and her back.

"You really think so? With such a rare blood type, I mean?"

"Special blood for special people," the pilot answered with a smile, kissing the tip of her nose. "After all, I know just two other people with the same blood type – except for myself, I mean. That's B. A, and that's you."

"Oh," Belinda said indifferently. The pilot stared off into the darkness until, of a sudden, an idea dawned to him. He wasn't sure if he had understood his team mate right, but B. A.'s words had suggested that the Sergeant was thinking about donating his kidney for Belinda – just like he had offered to donate blood for Murdock when the pilot had been seriously wounded once. During some other mission, when B. A. had been shot, Murdock had donated his blood to save the sergeant. B. A. hadn't liked the thought of having Murdock's blood in his veins but he had given in.

When the sun had risen, Murdock went into the kitchen to cook breakfast. While he was cooking fried eggs sunny side up with toast and bacon for his team mates, his wife and himself and a bowl of porridge with pieces of banana for Stella, B. A. came into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Say, big guy, what were you talking about yesterday?" Murdock asked, putting a glass of milk and a plate with six eggs and ten slices of crispy bacon in front of the sergeant. Then, he put a second plate with six eggs, five slices of crispy bacon and two slices of brown toast in front of his own chair and sat down.

"You love this woman, ain't choo, man?" B. A. asked back, locking his eyes with Murdock's.

"Sure I do," the pilot said.

"Then listen to me, fool. You gave me blood to save me once, and now I'd like to save your sweet darlin'. Face said that you, her and me share AB negative. And my kidneys work just fine."

"Must be the milk, I guess," Murdock remarked, unable to hide a grin. "Have you told the Colonel yet?"

B. A. shook his head, muttering, "Maybe we'd better tell Belinda first – see if she'd take the kidney at all."

"Can't imagine she won't," the pilot supposed. "She's always bushed on dialysis days." He sighed, remembering the numerous times he had to help her to bed. Sometimes, he even had to carry her upstairs when her blood pressure was so low she couldn't stand on her feet. Those were the nights he really hated – not just because he had to give his wife a hand in everything but also because he had to explain Stella why her mother was dead tired three times a week. The pilot hoped that the little girl understood but he wasn't sure. Most of those nights he had spent awake, holding Belinda in his arms and trying to comfort her as good as he could. But every time he had felt her shaking or heard her weeping in her sleep, he had cursed inwardly for being unable to keep her from suffering. Now, sitting on the chair facing B. A. who sipped his milk, he hoped that Belinda would accept the gift so she would get her health back and wouldn't have to face these awful moments anymore.

When Murdock and B. A. had finished their breakfast, Hannibal and Face came into the kitchen. Belinda and Stella followed suit.

"Morning, everybody," Hannibal said cheerfully. "Did you sleep good?" Belinda, Face, Murdock and B. A. nodded their agreements while Murdock continued cooking breakfast. He put one plate with five eggs and five slices of crispy bacon in front of Face, another one with six eggs and nine slices of crispy bacon in front of Hannibal and a third with two eggs, three slices of crispy bacon and two slices of brown toast with butter in front of Belinda. He kissed his wife's cheek and put the bowl of porridge next to his empty plate.

"To all a good meal," Murdock said before taking Stella on his lap, kissing her temple, handing her a spoon so she could eat the porridge, and wrapping his arms around his daughter.

When breakfast was finished, Belinda started to do the dishes. To her surprise, B. A. still sat on his chair, looking at her. Tabby had crept onto his lap.

"Belinda?" he said, softly striking the cat's fur. Purring, Tabby stood up on her hind paws and put her front paws against B.A.'s golden chains.

"Yep?" the pilot's wife answered.

"Just wanna say I ain't kiddin' about that you gonna get a new kidney soon," the Sergeant said.

"But from where?" Belinda wondered. "AB negative is bloody rare stuff." She chuckled humorlessly about her own joke.

"Tell me about it." B. A. gave a soft little laugh himself. "Murdock and I are both AB negative, too. He told me you're always bushed after the treatment. And since my kidneys work just fine, I can spare one."

"And you'd really do that for me?" Belinda asked, her eyes wide with fascination. She sat down next to the sergeant andblinked rapidly to stop the tears she felt in the corners of her eyes.

"Sure." Carefully, B. A. took Belinda's left hand into his and patted it gently. Then, he turned it around to touch the jagged scar on her wrist and the stitches from the dialysis needles along her forearm. Belinda looked at the jewelery covering B.A.'s strong wrists and fingers.

"Now, I'd like to know if you'd accept my offer," B. A. added.

"If you're really willing to give, I'd be happy to accept it," Belinda replied, blinking again when a tear started rolling down her cheek. Slowly, a broad grin appeared on B. A.'s face, showing his white teeth.

"Thank you, B. A., thank you, I owe you big," Belinda whispered, getting up and hugging the Sergeant.

"You don't owe me," B. A. said, softly wiping her cheek with his palm and returning the hug. "I'm happy to help. Let me do this for your family. The crazy foo' saved my life once when I was shot during a mission. I know he loves you, little sister, he really does. And I think the little angel needs her mother and father both every day. So I don't see why you'd suffer on this kidney stuff when I can help."

"Crazy foo'?" Belinda wondered. "Why do you call him that?"

"Well, he is crazy," B. A. said. "And most of the times he talks jibber jabber."

"He talks crazy talk. About things or persons that don't exist," the Sergeant added, noticing her confusion. He blinked slowly before asking "He never did this when you were with him?" Belinda shook her head.

"He must love you more than I thought," B. A. said before he ran his hand over Tabby again and gave Belinda a final smile before he gently put the cat off his lap and left for the living room to join his team mates.

Belinda sat down at the table again when the Sergeant had left. B. A. was right, and she was thankful he had made the offer. It was a wonderful thought that she would have her health back without having to wait for years to get a new kidney.

But on the other hand, she wasn't sure how B. A. would be able to go to a hospital for the surgical procedure – being wanted by the government. But then she remembered that Murdock had said once that the Colonel always found a way – sometimes his plan would be really weird but successful all the way.

"Well?" the pilot said when the burly Sergeant sat down on the couch.

"She said yes," B. A. said. "She'll do it."

"Who'll do what? What's going on?" the con man wondered, his gaze shifting between the pilot and the Sergeant. In a few sentences, B. A. explained his offer.

"You really wanna do that?" Hannibal asked, furrowing his brows. B. A. nodded, holding the Colonel's gaze.

"That's very noble of you, Sergeant," Hannibal added. "I think it's time to pay Bad Rock another visit." His faded blue Bombardier's eyes twinkled when he remembered the incident in the little Californian town where he had met Dr. Maggie Sullivan. The local medical woman had successfully transferred Murdock's blood to B. A. Hannibal had liked Dr. Sullivan a lot, and he was glad about the chance to see her again. He picked up the phone and dialed her number, hoping that the line wasn't bugged. Luckily, it wasn't anymore. When he told her why he was calling, Dr. Sullivan asked him to come by as soon as possible since the preparation would take a couple of days. She promised to give room in her house to the Murdock family so she could take care of Belinda and to get a couple of rooms for the team members at Bad Rock's brand-new motor inn at her expenses.

"Thank you, Doc," Hannibal said.

"Don't mention it. That's the least I can do for you guys. The town had been lost if it hadn't been for you," Dr. Sullivan answered before ending the call. Hannibal, B. A., Murdock, Belinda and Stella climbed into the van and set off to Bad Rock. The little girl sat on Murdock's lap, clutching her teddy bear and cuddling close against her father. Face had offered to stay behind to keep an eye on the house in Topanga Beach and on Tabby.

It took hardly half an hour to get to Bad Rock.

"Wouldn't have thought to see this place again," Murdock sighed when they crossed Bad Rock city limits. The small array of houses on either side of the broad and unpaved main road reminded Belinda of the modern version of a Wild West miner's town. The van's wheels brought up clouds of dust.

"Bad memories?" Belinda wondered, glancing at her husband.

"No, it was kinda fun here," Murdock answered, blinking. The ghost of a smile touched the corners of his mouth. It was a smile that looked rather odd compared to his usual goofy grin.

Dr. Sullivan stepped out of her house and waved a hand when she saw the black van pulling up next to her porch.

"Hi, gentlemen," she said when the passengers climbed out.

"Hi, Doc," the team mates responded in unison, like kids greeting their teacher.

"Dr. Maggie Sullivan, meet Belinda Josephine Murdock," Hannibal said, putting his hand on Belinda's shoulder.

"The woman who needs the kidney?" the medical woman asked. Hannibal nodded and put his other hand on B. A.'s shoulder.

"And here's the donor," the team leader explained. "I want you to do the transplantation, Doc."

"Bring them in, then," Dr. Sullivan said, leading the way into her surgery rooms. She lead the pilot's wife to a hospital bed on wheels before she handed her a hospital gown. The team mates except for Murdock left the room when Belinda changed. The pilot held his wife's hand when the medical woman drained some blood from Belinda's veins to check the blood values and checked her blood pressure. Then, Dr. Sullivan called B. A. in to examinate him, too. Watching the scene, Murdock decided that he couldn't do anything for his wife right now. But there was a little girl with his eyes and her mother's pretty tanned face who needed some company in the meantime. Stella had waited with Hannibal in Dr. Sullivan's office, sitting on the couch and playing with her teddy bear.

"Daddy, where's Mommy gone?", Stella asked when the pilot sat down next to her.

"She'll be fine. We're here to give her a new kidney. I told you about Mommy's kidneys, now, did I?"

"Yep, Mommy ill," the little girl said to express that she had understood.

"And we're here to heal her," the pilot answered, smiling brightly and running his hand over her hair. "The doctor woman will help her."

"Promise, Daddy?"

"Promise, little star." The pilot was glad that his daughter obviously had understood his explanations better than he had expected.

"Yahoo!" Stella dropped the teddy bear and climbed on her father's lap before she gave him an enthusiastic hug and kissed his jaw. Murdock wrapped his arms around the little girl's delicate body and hugged her back until she squirmed to escape his grip. She hopped back on her place to hug her teddy bear. The sight made Hannibal and Murdock grin.

After a few days of examination, Belinda and B. A. were prepared for the surgical procedure. During the night before the operation, Murdock found himself unable to sleep. So he crept downstairs into Dr. Sullivan's surgery rooms where B. A. and Belinda were spending the night because the procedure was to be done early in the morning. The pilot sat down on the edge of his wife's bed who lay on the side, her head resting on her hand, her heels pulled up to her buttocks. A curtain was pulled shut between the beds to separate them. Murdock kissed his wife's cheek and gently ran his hand over the curves of her hip and her waist.

"I love you, sweet darlin'," he whispered, softly nudging her ear with the tip of his nose. Belinda took a deep breath and turned on her back but didn't wake up. Murdock caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"Sleep well, sweet darlin'," he whispered before he turned to leave the room.

"Sleep well, big guy," he added in the direction of the other bed before he went back to bed. Stella sat up in her bed when he crept underneath the covers.

"Daddy?" she whispered.

"I'm here," the pilot answered, sitting up, too. "Wanna come to me?" At once, the girl left her bed to lie down next to him. She snuggled into his arms, kissed his cheek and put her head on his chest.

"Good night, Daddy," she whispered before she took a deep breath and fell asleep. Murdock ran his hand over her head and kissed her forehead.

It was 6 o'clock in the next morning when Dr. Sullivan went into her surgical rooms. The team mates and Stella waited in the medical woman's office until she came in around noontime to announce that the surgical procedure was done and seemed to have been successful.

"Your wife has awaken, Mr. Murdock. You can go see her now if you wish. I'll take care of your little girl if you don't mind," she said to Murdock who was fidgeting with the collar of his shirt while doing his best to sit patiently on the couch but failing.

"Thank you, Doc." The pilot beamed at the medical woman before he kissed Stella's forehead, told her to stay in the office, and rushed into the surgery rooms to look after Belinda. He took her hand, kissing the knuckles.

"How do you feel, sweet darlin'?" the pilot asked in a hush voice.

"Tired," Belinda answered, managing a smile. "Tired but good."

"I thought so. You look a lot better," Murdock said, bending down to caress her cheeks and her hair and to kiss her lips, the tip of her nose, and her eyelids when she closed her eyes to get some sleep. The pilot pulled up a chair to stay at Belinda's side until she had fallen asleep.

"Sleep well, sweet darlin'," he whispered before he softly took his wife's hand to kiss the palm and turned his attentions towards B. A. who had awaken, too.

"Hey, big guy," the pilot said, cautiously touching the muscular upper arm. "Welcome back to the world."

"Hey, crazy foo'," B. A. mumbled. Murdock could tell from the way the words were slurred that the anesthesia was still working on the Sergeant. B. A. turned his head a bit to take a better look at Murdock who beamed at him like a five-year-old on Christmas Morning. Slowly, the Sergeant blinked. It took him a few minutes to raise a hand so the team mates could hi-five. Murdock winced when B. A.'s big hand hit his palm hard enough to make the pilot worry about the bones in his hand for a moment. He drew in a sharp breath and carefully flexed his fingers, glad that the muscular Sergeant was still too weak to give him a full-strength hi-five.

"How's your sweet darlin'?" B. A. wondered, glancing in the direction of the other hospital bed. "And where's the little angel?"

"Both are fine. Dr. Sullivan said the surgery was successful," Murdock informed him, gently squeezing B. A.'s hand. "Belinda's sleeping now, and Stella's in the office with the doc and the Colonel. How do you feel, big guy?"

"I'm okay," B. A. lied, returning the squeeze. The surgery had exhausted the Sergeant, more than anything else in his life so far. But damn if he'd admit that.

B. A. closed his eyes, trying to ignore his mother's voice in his head that had spoken up suddenly in the way she had done so often when he had been a kid.

"Scooter!" the Sergeant heard his mother shout. "Did I raise you to lie to your friend, young man? Did I? Like hell I did! Now go say you're sorry, Scooter! Right now, you hear me!"

"Sorry, man. I ain't tellin' the truth," B. A. said, blinking rapidly. "I ain't feelin' okay." He let out a deep sigh.

"Want me to get the Doc?" the pilot asked. The Sergeant nodded slowly. Calling Dr. Sullivan on top of his lungs, Murdock hurried back into the office to tell her about B. A. not feeling well.

Dr. Sullivan checked on B. A.'s pulse and blood pressure before injecting him some medication and checking on him again. Then, she checked on Belinda, too, and much to Murdock's relief, his wife's condition turned out to be steady.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Back to Life

Three weeks went by while B. A. and Belinda recovered. As soon as they had their stitches removed and were allowed to get up, they tried to walk around as often as possible for exercise. Hannibal and Murdock waited patiently, giving them support in every possible way. As soon as Dr. Sullivan announced that Belinda and B. A. were allowed to eat regular food again, Murdock went to get ingredients for French pancakes with creamed fruit cocktail and steak with baked potatoes. He wanted to cook something special to celebrate the successful step. The pilot knew that his wife would be happy to eat the things again she had missed for such a long time, and he was quite sure B. A. wouldn't turn down such a meal, either. When the patients came back from their stroll, Hannibal and Murdock were surprised to see that B. A. was carrying Belinda on both arms.

"What happened?" The pilot rushed towards them.

"She fell and bumped her knees," B. A. answered. Belinda held on to the Sergeant's shoulders, sniveling quietly. Murdock gasped for air when he noticed a small trail of blood between the hem of her skirt and her sneaker. He reached out to take her from B. A.'s arms.

Since it had turned out that the patients obviously felt good enough to stay out of bed for more than just a few hours, Hannibal asked Dr. Sullivan after dinner if Belinda and B. A. could be taken back home. At first, the medical woman disagreed, trying to convince the team leader. But she realized soon enough that it was no use.

Dr. Sullivan handed Murdock an envelope and a small canvas shopping basket that was loaded with the needed assortment of pills for his wife. The pilot noticed a folded sheet of paper among the pill boxes in the shopping basket.

"Please take care she'll take the pills according to the medication plan," the medical woman said, pointing at the sheet of paper. "And please make sure she'll get checked on regular basis in the Topanga Beach General Hospital. Here's a letter for the doctor with all the needed details."

"Thanks, Doc. I will," Murdock said, putting the envelope into the inner pocket of his jacket and shaking the medical woman's hand before he adjusted his seat for his wife so she would have a comfortable ride. Then, he climbed into the van himself to sit in the seat Face used to occupy. B. A. lay reclined in the passenger's seat while Hannibal was driving. Stella climbed into the van and onto her father's lap so the pilot could slide the door shut.

When the family had come home and Stella had gone to bed, Murdock plopped down on the couch to make himself comfortable next to his wife.

"How do you feel, sweet darlin'?" he asked, snuggling his head against her bosom.

"Quite good. Just my knees still hurt a bit. My feet, too," Belinda said, leaning back and slowly closing her eyes.

"Mind if I give you a foot rub?" the pilot offered. Belinda looked at him, ran her hand through his thinning brown hair and smiled.

"No, I don't mind. But please be careful – you know how ticklish I am."

"Yeah, I remember." Murdock sat up again, and took Belinda's feet onto his lap to take off her sneakers and socks. He caressed the soles firmly with the heels of his hands before he started massaging them with his finger tips. Belinda closed her eyes to relax.

Suddenly, Murdock noticed that his wife had dozed off. He shook his head in disbelieve, taking her ankles in a firm grip and running his index finger along her right sole to wake her up.

"Hey!" Belinda exclaimed, trying to escape the grip. Murdock didn't feel like letting go, though, or stopping to tickle her, either. Suddenly, the pilot noticed something on the floor. He bent down to take a closer look at it and saw that it was a long white bird's feather. Obviously, Tabby had been hunting doves again on the beach. Sometimes, when the cat wasn't able to catch a bird, she'd bring in some feathers from the beach as a substitute trophy.

"I'm a bit picky who to give a foot rub, y'know," the pilot said, picking up the feather and twirling it thoughtfully between his fingers so Belinda could see it and guess what he was thinking of. "And not appreciating it calls for some punishment. Sorry, sweet darlin', two minutes' penalty!" Slowly, Murdock began running the feather up and down Belinda's right sole sending her into an outburst of laughter and squeals, especially when the feather tip touched a little spot right underneath the ball. The pilot ran the feather a few times over the particularly sensitive spot, watching her desperately trying to jerk away.

The pilot couldn't help grinning mischievously when his wife bucked against his grip. Of course he knew it was mean to use the feather on his wife's ticklish feet but he wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to amuse himself a bit. After all, there hadn't been much time for play-wrestling since Stella had been born, and the pilot had been missing those moments a lot.

When Murdock had finished tending to his wife's soles, he started using the tip of the feather on the soft flesh underneath Belinda's toes, making her laugh and squeal even more.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Please, please stop!" she managed to say between gasps of laughter. At once, the pilot stopped running the feather along the skin underneath her toes, slightly twirling the feather underneath each toe. He caressed her shins and tenderly kissed the bandage covering the small wound and the purple bruise on her kneecap.

"That was really mean," Belinda complained once she could breathe better, "You know my feet are my worst spot!"

"Sure I know! But I just couldn't resist since I didn't have your cute feet so close in a while, ya see..." Murdock leaned his chin on Belinda's unhurt kneecap, giving her his best puppy eyes. And as usual, that made his wife's heart melt. Tenderly, she ran her hand through his hair again. Suddenly, a small voice spoke up from the door, "Daddy? What's up?"

Murdock and Belinda turned their heads to see their daughter standing in the doorway, apparently having watched the scene. Slowly, the girl came closer and sat next to her father.

"Sorry, can't tell ya," Murdock said, hugging his daughter with his free arm and kissing the little girl's head. "It's a secret, y'know." Stella eyed the feather in her father's hand and her mother's bare feet still held in place on her father's lap. Curiously, the little girl ran the tips of her fingers up the right sole, making her mother giggle and yank her foot back hard enough to loose Murdock's grip for a moment.

"Mommy ticklish," Stella whispered, running the tips of the fingers down the sole again once her father had gotten hold of the ankle again. The little girl's fingertips hardly touched the skin, making Belinda laugh out loud this time. The pilot looked at his daughter, smiling and giving her a conspiratorial wink.

"Tickle, tickle, tickle," Stella whispered mockingly, smiling broadly back at her father, her delicate fingers dancing quickly all over the sole now. That made her mother squeal and struggle hard enough to make the pilot hold the ankle with both hands. When Stella had tickled Belinda for another two minutes, Murdock ordered his daughter to stop.

"And don't you ever tell anybody about Mommy's ticklish feet," he added, shaking his index finger dramatically at Stella and poking her nose. "It's a secret, and who can't keep a secret will be punished."

"Won't tell anybody," Stella assured quickly. Her eyes had widened when her father had mentioned the punishment. But nonetheless Murdock had noticed a little mischievous gleam in Stella's eyes indicating that this wouldn't be the last time that the little girl would try to tickle her mother's feet. Obviously, the little girl had gotten a taste for it.

"Promise?" the pilot goaded.

"Big promise," Stella answered. She held on to the pilot's shoulder to kiss his cheek and went back to bed. Passing her mother, she paused to kiss her goodnight, too. When Stella had left the room, Murdock rubbed Belinda's foot once more with the heel of his hand before releasing her. Quickly, the pilot's wife pulled her legs close. Murdock snuggled against Belinda again, putting his head on her lap. Slowly, he ran his hand along her left shin.

"Sorry, sweet darlin'," he said quietly when his fingers touched her ankle, making her twitch again. "Didn't mean to torture you so much. It's just too much fun to tickle you." Belinda sighed, knowing full well how much he had enjoyed it.

"I know you didn't mean it. And I can stand the touch of your fingers but using the feather was really awful. People were tortured that way during the Dark Ages. So please, never do that again."

"Promise," Murdock said, closing his eyes. The couple stayed on the couch until dusk, watching the sun setting in the ocean.

Two days later, the pilot woke up in the morning when he heard his wife giggle. He sat up to investigate and noticed Stella sitting on her mother's legs who lay on her belly. The little girl had uncovered her mother's feet, tickling them with both hands. Desperately, Belinda tried to shake off the probing fingers crawling all over her soles and poking the spaces between her toes but failed. Unable to hide a grin, Murdock watched the scene a few minutes before he ordered the girl to stop. Reluctantly, the girl obeyed, giving her father an excusing smile and a little rueful shrug as if to say, "Why miss an opportunity, eh?" Murdock returned the smile and opened his arms to hug his daughter.

"Don't you tickle Mommy too often, little star. She can't stand much of it," he whispered into her ear.

"Mommy very ticklish," the girl whispered back. The pilot nodded in agreement, and kissed her nose.

"Now off to the bathroom with you, little star. I'll come to check if you washed your ears properly in a few minutes," he said, putting the girl on the floor. Giggling, Stella rushed out of the bedroom to wash herself and get dressed. Murdock waited five minutes until he followed her. Checking Stella's ears had become a kind of a morning habit between the pilot and his daughter.

He knocked at the closed bathroom door and cleared his throat before he pushed it open and said, "Ready or not, here I come!" Stella was still wiping her face with the washing cloth when he stepped up behind her, adjusted a pair of invisible gloves and ran his index fingers over the skin behind his daughter's ears. Then, he grabbed her to raise her at eye-level.

"Nice try, little star, but there's still enough dirt to plant a hedge behind your ears," he said, shaking his head and raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry, Daddy," Stella answered, washing her ears again, more carefully this time. Suspiciously, she looked at the washcloth in her hand before she held it out to her father. Grinning, Murdock checked her ears again and kissed her forehead.

"Well done, little star," he said. "As clear as a mountain spring."

"Thanks, Daddy," the girl smiled and kissed his cheek before he put her down.

"And off you go," he ordered, watching her rush into the kitchen. He followed her to put a bowl of sweetened breakfast cereals with milk in front of her and to pour a second ration for himself. A few minutes later, Belinda joined them, taking a bowl of cereals, too.

"Well?" she asked. "How is my family?"

"All fine, Mommy," the pilot and the little girl answered in unison, smiling at her.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: One Step Ahead

"No, no, no!" Sitting on the porch steps on a summer evening, Stella crossed her arms and shook her head at her mother who was sitting next to her.

"But you gotta go to school, like everybody else," Belinda said, exchanging a glance with her husband who had sat down at the little girl's other side. He nodded in agreement, putting his arm around their daughter.

"I ain't going!" Stella insisted. "Don't wanna!"

"But why?" the pilot's wife asked. "School won't hurt you!"

"Does too!" the girl fired back, her big brown eyes sparkling with fury now. "School's a meanie!"

"Does not!" the pilot stepped in. Belinda raised her eyebrows when she heard the unfamiliar strict tone of voice.

"You liked kindergarten, didn't you, little star?" he added after he looked at his wife and gave her half-grin. "School's just the same like kindergarten."

"Daddy's right," Belinda said after a few minutes. "School's not different from kindergarten, and it'll teach you everything you need in life."

"Like what?" Stella asked.

"Literacy and numeracy and stuff." That was all Belinda could say before Stella waved a dismissive hand.

"Who needs that anyway?" she mumbled.

"Now, don't you look at your mother in such a tone of voice!" Murdock said crossly, raising his index finger and tapping her head twice. "You can't have a good life without going to school. I've been in school, Mommy's been in school, and we have a good life, don't we?" Stella gave him a doubtful glance

"And you'll make a lot of new friends there," Belinda added.

"But what if they don't like me there?" Stella said, cuddling against her father as if looking for protection.

"Why shouldn't they like you?" Murdock smiled.

"You're the best little girl I know," he added, running his hand over her head.

"How many little girls do you know, Daddy?" Stella asked, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Well, I met one or two, over the years," the pilot said. "But none of them can hold a candle to you, little star."

The little girl's face softened a bit, and Belinda couldn't help smiling when Stella put her folded arms on her father's thigh, resting her chin on her arms and giving him a sunny smile.

"Okay, Daddy, I'll try school," she said. "You'll be home when I come back?"

"I'll pick you up from school. Promise," the pilot said, smiling back. Stella climbed onto his lap, slid her arms around his ribcage and hugged him as tightly as she could. Murdock returned the hug and kissed her head. Belinda blinked in amazement when she realized that obviously going to school or not finding friends there hadn't been the point at all – Stella had been worried that her father would leave when she wasn't home.

_Maybe she thinks he'd run off like a stray_, Belinda thought, smiling at the way Stella seemed to creep underneath her father's jacket, burying her face in his chest.

"I love you, Daddy," she heard the little girl say.

"I love you too, my little star," the pilot replied in a low voice, caressing her back.

Two days later, on her first school day, Stella woke up at dawn when she felt something lie on top of her and heard Tabby purr. The little girl opened her eyes, looking into the golden eyes of the cat who meowed sweetly at her.

"Mornin', Tabby," Stella said. "How are you?" The question was answered by another sweet meow before Tabby nudged the girl's cheek with her head.

"I'm fine, too, thanks," Stella said, scratching the cat's back. When the cat got up to stretch and jump off the bed, the girl got up, too and opened her wardrobe. She wasn't sure what to wear on her first school day. Hesitatingly, she put her favorite pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt and a red-checkered blouse on the bed and looked at the clothes. She wasn't sure if her favorite clothes would do.

"What do you think, Tabby?" she asked the cat who had climbed into the closet, making herself comfortable on the t-shirts. "This looks good?" Stella held the clothes against her body. When the cat meowed, the girl went into the bathroom to wash herself and get dressed. Then, she went into the kitchen to find her father setting the table. She sat down at her place and looked at her father who put a bowl of cereals with milk in front of her.

"_Lucky Charms_ for good luck," the pilot said, smiling and kissing her head.

"Thanks, Daddy." The little girl smiled back when he poured a second helping for himself.

"Why do you need luck today?" she asked when he started eating. Murdock just smiled at her, chewing constantly until he had emptied his bowl.

"Just thought I'd eat some, too. Just to make sure I won't get stuck in traffic when I pick you up from school," he said, shrugging one shoulder. "Now, let's see if you got everything." He reached out for her satchel, opened it and looked inside. After a few minutes, he shook his head and went to take a blue lunch box for his daughter with Piglet on the front from the fridge.

"Sliced red apples wrapped in cold cinammon pancakes for lunch," he announced. Stella opened the box to look inside and closed it again, licking her lips.

"Thanks, Daddy," she said. The pilot cupped her chin and kissed her cheek when Belinda entered to sit down.

"Look what Daddy got me, Mommy!" The little girl showed her lunch to her mother before she finished breakfast and went to get her jacket.

"Looks yummy," Belinda said, smiling at her husband and noticing an odd gleam in his eyes. He blinked slowly, and she suddenly realized that this day was hard to take for more than one member of her family. Speaking of it, she didn't find it easy to see Stella flying the nest so soon, either. She stepped up at her husband's side and kissed his cheek. Murdock put his head against her bosom and looked at her. She stroke his head and kissed the tip of his nose.

"She'll be fine. Don't you forget she's your daughter through and through," Belinda said, smiling encouragingly at the pilot. Murdock sighed in response.

"I know, sweet darlin'. But ya see, it's always hard for a father to see his daughter leave," he said, blinking rapidly as if he was going to cry any moment. Belinda smiled.

"She's just going to school. She'll be back before you know it," she assured him, trying hard not to show him that it affected her, too. But since the pilot had noticed her mood nonetheless, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. They held each other close until Stella came back into the kitchen to get her satchel and her lunch box. A minute later, they heard the school bus honk in front of the house. Stella hugged and kissed her parents and went outside to catch the bus. As soon as she had left, Belinda ran her hand through Murdock's hair, planted a tender kiss on his receding hairline and repeated, "She'll be fine."

"I know, I know," the pilot said. But nonetheless, he felt as if somebody was biting off one of his fingers, bit by bit. It was worse than seeing her leave for kindergarten. To Murdock, school was suggesting that Stella was taking a step towards independence. And one day, he'd have to face the fact that Stella wouldn't be his little girl anymore. The pilot had no idea what to do then. He just knew that this day would come sooner or later. And he could see that Belinda knew that, too, and it was pressing on her, too. Both knew that Stella had inherited the pilot's strong will and his brilliant mind and Belinda's kindness. She was a loveable girl. So, they held onto this thought until their daughter would come home.

During the forenoon, Murdock received a call from the freight company he was working for. One of the other pilots had reported himself ill, and the supervisor asked Murdock to fill in. Belinda was positive that going to work would help her husband getting a grip again, and indeed the pilot was glad about the distraction and the chance to go to the skies for a while. So he kissed his wife good-bye, grabbed his cap and jacket and set off for work.

The few hours at work passed in no time at all, and soon it was time to deliver the promise the pilot had given his daughter. In the spur of a moment, Murdock decided to pick Stella up with the helicopter. The elementary school was a flat, grayish building with a large yard where he could land the helicopter without any problem. He spotted his daughter sitting on a bench among several other girls who were chatting and laughing merrily with her. The sight made him smile. Obviously, Stella had had a nice day. He waited a few minutes before getting off the helicopter and calling for his daughter. At once, Stella grabbed her satchel and the lunch box, ran towards him and hugged his knees. Smiling, he picked her up so she could sit on his arm and hold on to his neck.

"Well?" he asked in a low voice, kissing her cheek. "How was school?"

"School was fine, Daddy," Stella whispered, her eyes glued to the helicopter. Carefully, the pilot opened the door to put her on a seat. Then, he climbed on the driver's seat to start the engine. The other girls who had hidden behind the bench at the sudden noise stood with their mouths hanging open when the helicopter lifted off. Murdock landed the helicopter on the beach behind their house, and as soon as the rotor had stopped turning, he climbed off to give Stella a piggy back into the house. He called the supervisor at the freight company to inform him that he was having a break for lunch at home.

After lunch, the pilot made himself comfortable on the couch in the living room to listen to Stella's first day at school. Belinda joined him when the dishes were done. The girl told her parents about the friends she had made and her teacher who was nice and friendly. And finally, she told about that the class had had a spelling contest, and Stella had won it. Hearing this, her father beamed with pride. He took her in his arms and gave her a big hug. Belinda did as well.

"This calls for celebration!" the pilot announced. "Let's go for an ice cream!" Stella cheered and clapped her hands in delight, bouncing on the couch. Belinda smiled and nodded her agreements. The family went to a near-by ice cream parlor. Stella asked for two big scoops of chocolate ice cream with whipped cream, her parents shared a sundae with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, lots of whipped cream and white and dark chocolate sprinkles. They spent about an hour at the ice cream parlor before Murdock had to go back to work.

Night was coming down when the pilot came home. After he had checked on Stella, he went into the bed room, and much to his surprise, Belinda was still awake. He found her sitting in bed, staring off into space.

"Hi there," the pilot said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "How come you're still awake?"

"I don't feel good," Belinda answered, pressing a hand on her belly.

"What's wrong?" Frowning, Murdock touched her forehead to check her temperature and her throat to check her pulse.

"Damn if I know," Belinda said. Murdock held out his arms to her to give he a comforting hug and smiled when Belinda snuggled close to him.

"Anything else I can get you?" he asked against her temple. "How about some tea?"

"Sounds good." Belinda freed herself from the pilot's long arms and leaned against the head part of the bed, feeling exhausted. Murdock went into the kitchen to heat up the kettle. Then, he rummaged the kitchen cabinets to find a metal box of loose fruit tea he had bought and mixed with pieces of vanilla bean to improve the taste. He filled some of the tea into a tea strainer and put it into a dark blue mug with Belinda's red initials on it before pouring the hot water into the mug. Holding the steaming mug in one hand and a little bowl with brown sugar and a delicate spoon in the other, he returned into the bed room and placed the mug and the sugar-bowl on the bedside table. Belinda added a spoonful of sugar to the mug, stirred carefully and sipped the fruity-sweet liquid. Smiling, the pilot caressed her belly with the tips of his fingers, asking if she felt better.

"Yep," she said, smiling back at him. When she had finished her beverage, the pilot took the mug from his wife and brought it into the kitchen before he went to bed.

"Feelin' better?" he asked again, putting his arm around his wife and running his other hand through her hair.

"Yep." Belinda rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Relieved, Murdock kissed her eyelids and shifted into a comfortable position to sleep himself.

The night was followed by a quite hectic morning. Murdock jolted awake when he felt Belinda freeing from his arm and climbing off the bed. He tensed his muscles when he heard her going to the bathroom with unusual quick steps. After a moment of silence, he heard her throwing up and brushing her teeth afterwards. She came back into the bedroom, wiping her mouth with a towel, and sat on the edge of the bed. Murdock told his muscles to unfreeze again and turned on his back to run his index and middle finger along her spine.

"Everythin' okay?" he asked, knowing full well it wasn't. But he just had to ask to soothe himself.

"I want you to see a doctor about this, sweet darlin'. Just to make sure," he added when she shook her head no.

"This ain't nothing but a bit of queasyness. I don't think I need a doctor," she argued against her better judgement.

"Please," Murdock said quietly. "Please do it for my sake, sweet darlin'." He shifted to put his head on her lap and looked at her with big puppy eyes, knowing this certainly took the wind out of her sails.

"I'll go later, when Stella's at school," she gave in. Contently, the pilot blinked at her before he ran his fingertips over her belly again.

"Speaking of it, I think it's time to make somebody get up," he said, getting up and checking on Stella.

"Time to get up, little star," he said, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Sun's waitin' for you on this fine mornin'."

"Tell sun and morning to come back later," Stella replied crossly, yawning heartily and trying to curl up into a ball and hide underneath the cover.

"Hey, hey, outta there, Stella Emily Murdock!" the pilot ordered, shoving his hands underneath the covers and getting hold of his daughter's wrists. "Or do I have to drag you out?"

"No, no, no! I'm up, Daddy, I'm up!" Stella struggled to free from his grip and sat up quickly.

"Well?" Murdock crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow at his daughter and shot her a look, making the girl rush towards the bathroom. She ran through the shower and got dressed. Today, she settled for her black sneakers and a long purple dress with long red sleeves and big blue pockets on the skirt's front her mother had bought for her last birthday.

"There! A perfect little lady. And all Murdock through and through." The pilot grinned lovingly at his daughter and kissed her forehead before combing and re-braiding her hair.

"Thanks, Daddy." Stella smiled at him, smoothing her dress and her braid. She hugged her father and kissed his cheek before they went into the kitchen. This morning, Murdock decided to cook French Toast for his family. He put a little helping on Stella's plate and a second, slightly bigger helping on his own before storing a third plate into the oven for Belinda since he could imagine that she would appreciate time to have a good night's rest. It was 10 o'clock when Belinda entered the kitchen.

"Hey there, sleepy head," the pilot grinned and kissed her cheek. She smiled and returned the kiss before sitting down at the table.

"For you," Murdock said, putting the plate from the oven in front of her. Belinda smiled and reached out for the coffee. The pilot pulled the pitcher out of reach and went to make some tea for her.

"No coffee 'til we know what's with you!" he ordered, and the adamant look he shot her made her agree quickly. She knew he was right. Besides, she wanted to find out what was wrong, too. Even if she already assumed what the problem might be. She remembered the last time when she had feld queasy in the morning. It had been when she had been expecting Stella... The thought quickened her pulse.

Murdock looked at her questioningly when he put a fresh mug of the fruit tea with vanilla and a dash of sugar in front of her plate and noticed the excitement dancing in her eyes. He bent down to cup her face with both hands and kissed her forehead, her nose and her cheeks.

"Whatever it is, we're gonna see it through, sweet darlin'. Promise," he whispered before sealing her mouth with a deep kiss. Belinda closed her eyes when he ran his tongue along the roof of her mouth and pushed his tongue against hers.

When Belinda had finished breakfast and was dressed and groomed, the couple went to the Topanga Beach General Hospital. Murdock had the idea to see the doctor who was checking his wife on a regular basis to see if the kidney was affected. The pilot had to struggle to hold back an outcry of joy when the doctor told the couple that the kidney was in good condition, and that Belinda was with child again. The thought of being a father for the second time almost made him hit the ceiling with joy.


	17. Chapter Seventeen:

Sighing contently, Murdock ran his palm over Belinda's belly while the couple was spending some time in bed after Stella had left for school and Tabby had been fed. He straightened up on one elbow and looked his wife over. The pregnancy had almost reached its sixth month, and the belly had grown to the size of a medium-sized watermelon. Just like during the first pregnancy, touching the belly made the pilot realize better that he'd be a father for the second time in a few month. Belinda hadn't mentioned the baby's gender yet but inwardly, the pilot hoped for a son this time. Of course, he loved Stella from the bottom of his heart but he thought it would be nice to be the first one delivering the A-Team's first male offspring, having been the first team member being married.

Murdock smiled at his sleeping wife in the early morning light and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, sweet darlin'," he whispered against her light brown skin, and let his palm draw circles on her belly, making her smile in her sleep. She yawned and blinked at him.

"Morning, handsome Captain," she said, nudging the tip of his nose with hers. "Did you sleep well?"

"I report most obediently, no serious incidents, Ma'am," the pilot said, tapping his forehead with his index finger to indicate a salute. Belinda couldn't help laughing quietly. It always amused her when he saluted her, and it made her suppose that it was quite easy to turn a civilian into a soldier but it was much harder to turn a soldier back into a civilian.

"And how was sleep for the both of you?" the pilot asked, putting his ear against her belly and listening.

"You don't say... Oh, that sounds like fun," he whispered after a few minutes, kissed the belly and laid back, resting his chin on his fist like a bored schoolboy in class trying to follow the lesson.

"What did it say?" Belinda wondered when she felt his gaze upon her.

"It said it had a nice dream about visiting Fudge Town," Murdock replied, slowly closing his eyes.

"Fudge Town? Sounds like fun," Belinda agreed, laughing.

"I swear the baby told me so. It told me how it walked around on cobblestone streets made of toffee and frosting. It took a bite from a gingerbread street lamp and a little dog made of chocolate that came strolled along, and some time later, it ate some chocolate snow that came down," the pilot explained, smiling broadly and chuckling to himself. .

"Now, wait a minute! Our child bit a dog?" Belinda exclaimed, laughing.

"Yeah. It said it bit off the doggie's tail." Murdock moved his jaw as if chewing on something before giving her another broad grin.

"You're pulling my leg!" Belinda shook her head and caressed her belly as if to protect it.

"You don't believe me?" Murdock pulled a shocked face, straightening up on his hands and knees and shaking his index finger dramatically at his wife.

"Hear that?" he addressed the belly. "Mommy says we're liars, you and me."

"Hey! Didn't say so!" Belinda protested, running her hand soothingly through Murdock's hair that was still entangled from sleep, and then caressing her belly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to doubt you. No offense," she assured quickly. Softly, her husband poked his finger between her ribs and kissed her lips.

"None taken," he said, blinked at her with both eyes, and lay down at her side to wrap his arms around her and to pull her back against his chest, splaying his long, slim fingers across her belly as if holding a basketball with both hands. Then, he planted little kisses along her neck and her shoulder while dragging his thumbs back and forth across the soft skin above the belly-button as if to caress the baby's head.

Belinda smiled. By now, she already knew that they were expecting a son this time. But nonetheless, she had decided not to tell the pilot yet just to see his brain working about this. And obviously, the baby seemed to be a chip off the old block. She just hoped that it would be in good health. But on the other hand, the pilot had taken care of her food again. So she was positive that the baby got everything it needed. In addition to the creamed fruit cocktail Murdock prepared for her breakfasts, he had created a range of smoothies, containing fruit, milk, honey, vanilla bean and one or two egg yolks - depending on the fruit. Mostly, he used bananas, strawberries, green apples and unsweetened cornflakes for the smoothies. sometimes he'd add pineapple or oranges for taste improvement.

During the following months, Belinda and her husband got used to spend the mornings in bed after they had had breakfast with Stella. Mostly, they stayed in bed until Tabby came in to demand lunch around noon. Murdock had decided that his wife could use every second of rest she could get.

When the last month of pregnancy had begun, the pilot received a call from Face. The con man announced that the team had gotten hired for a job in a small town in West Virginia to help a farmer who was about to loose his farm.

Murdock bit his lip when he heard this. On the one hand, he was glad that the team still needed him, on the other hand, he was worried about his wife. But nonetheless, he agreed when Face asked if he'd come to pick up the pilot. The family and the con man took a moment to sit at the kitchen table.

"Don't you worry, Murdock," Face said when he noticed his friend's distress. "They'll be fine. I bet Belinda can handle everything. And Stella's gonna be a good girl. Ain't you, Stella?"

"Gonna be good, uncle Face," Stella answered and nodded. Face flashed her a smile and looked at Belinda.

"You're alright, too?" he wondered.

"Sure. Just like you said, Face - we'll be fine. Just please make sure my handsome Captain will make it back home in one piece," Belinda answered, entwining her fingers with Murdock's. She shot Face a "_And don't you let me down_!"-stare before she looked at her husband and pecked him on the cheek. Murdock cupped her face with both hands and kissed her cheeks and her lips.

"I'll be home again soon, sweet darlin'," he said between the kisses, putting his hand on her belly. Then, he unfolded his arms to hug Stella. Relucantly, the little girl came to climb onto his lap. it was written all over her little face that she didn't want her father to go.

"Sorry, but I have to," Murdock whispered into her ear, giving her a big hug. "But I'll be home again soon. Big promise." Stella looked up at him and smiled before she threw her arms around his ribcage and returned the hug.

Before the two men set off, the pilot took a few minutes to prepare a few pitchers of smoohies and a big bowl of creamed fruit cocktail for his wife and stored all in the fridge. When he was finished, Belinda and Stella walked the men to the door.

"Give my best to Hannibal and B.A.," the pilot's wife said and pulled Face into a short hug for good luck. Then, the pilot's wife and the little girl stood and watched Face's Corvette drive away.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: A topsyturvy trip

It took six days for the team to accomplish their mission in Virginia and return to Los Angeles. The team members were tired, even Hannibal found it difficult to hide his wearyness. Aside from their fee, the mission had earned them several minor bruises. Besides, Murdock had been fidgeting nervously in his seat all the time, unable to think of anything but his pregnant wife being home alone, and his restlessness had been catching like a disease for all of the team.

"Calm down, Murdock," Face tried to soothe him when the van had crossed Arizona state line on their way home. B. A. frowned at the restless pilot in the rear-view mirror. The lanky body was shaking with agitation as Murdock's knees jiggled ceaselessly as if he ran on high adrenalin, and the pilot drummed his long, slim fingers on his thighs without any obvious rhythm. It took a few minutes until Face could get hold of Murdock's hand and squeeze it to calm his friend down. Murdock turned to look at Face from widened eyes.

"Can it, foo'!" B. A. rumbled from the driver's seat.

"Get a grip, Cap'n," Hannibal stepped in. The silver-haired team leader looked out of the windshield, noticing a picnic-area coming up. He gestured B. A. to pull over.

"I guess all of us could use a break, Sergeant," he said when he noticed B. A. frowning at him. As soon as the van had slowed down Murdock reached past Face and slid the van's door open before vaulting out of the van like a billard ball pushed into motion and rushing towards a near-by phone booth like an unleashed dog, searching his pockets for change. Face followed him slowly until he heard the pilot talk to his wife, sounding more and more relieved. The con man waited until the conversation was over to lean against the phone booth and clear his throat.

"Feeling better now?" the con man asked in a low voice. Murdock took a deep breath and nodded.

"How's your pretty wife?" Face asked.

"She's fine. She said Stella gives her a hand around the house, and our little star's a good help with the dishes and stuff. So far, she just broke one itsy-bitsy plate," Murdock answered. A broad grin spread on the pilot's face, bringing the familiar gleam back into the big brown eyes. Face nodded contently. The two men went back towards the van to find Hannibal and B. A. sitting at a near-by picnic table, sharing a long submarine sandwich that was loaded with every thing except for black olives and anchovies. Two foot-long pieces wrapped in waxed paper were left. Hannibal pushed them towards Murdock and Face who didn't hesitate to click the pieces against each other like glasses,to unwrap them and to eat. While Face was taking his time to enjoy the snack, Murdock tore his sandwich apart with two gigantic bites and stiffled a belch with the back of his hand before wiping his mouth. The team spent a few minutes more on the picnic-area before they drove on to get home before dusk.

During the next week, Murdock and Belinda took the chance to prepare for the labour. When they had finished furnishing a kid's bedroom for Stella so the baby could sleep in the former nursery, they spent hours of attaching bright blue wallpaper with small red planes. After they had finished this task, the couple spent almost every evening on the couch, watching the sun set and talking. When Belinda felt good enough, they went for a stroll on the beach, sometimes pausing to sit down on a blanket and holding each other close to look at the starry sky and to remember their first kiss.

During one of those strolls on the beach, Belinda decided to tell the pilot about their son. After all, it was time to find a name for the baby.

"We're gonna have a son?" Murdock asked, beaming at her. "You're sure, sweet darlin'?" His enthusiasm made Belinda smile.

"Sure," she said. "The doctor told me when I went there last time." The pilot wrapped his arms around her and sealed her lips with a deep kiss. Then, he put his hand on her belly, bent down to plant a kiss on the soft skin and whispered, "Hello in there. This is your daddy. See you soon, little guy."

The week until the delivery passed in no time, and Murdock found himself thinking more often about an adequate name for his son. After a while, he settled for the name of Reginald.

"Reginald Murdock," he said to himself, his eyes wandering across the bedroom's ceiling.

"Reginald..." Belinda repeated in a low voice. Murdock hugged her and kissed her temple. Obviously, his wife considered the name to have a good sound to it, too.

It was the next day, around noon, when Belinda felt her labour pains beginning. About four hours later, Murdock held a tiny version of himself in his arms. The little delicate boy was wrapped in a bright blue blanket with bright red spots. Big brown eyes with a blueish shimmer looked around as if to ask, "There. Here I am. What now?" Murdock couldn't help grinning. He ran his hand over the smooth brown hair covering the boy's skull and said, "Hi there, little guy, good to see ya."

"He's a handsome little guy, ain't he?" Belinda said, lifting her arms to hug her husband and her son.

"He sure is," Murdock answered.

"Like father, like son," she added.

"Now, don't you make me blush," the pilot said, casting his eyes down.


End file.
